"I cannot remember if I have ever…," Ben Stokes calls World Test Championship 'utterly confusing'

Stokes’ comments came ahead of the first Test against New Zealand in Christchurch.

England skipper Ben Stokes on Thursday (November 28) said that they don’t specifically think about the ICC World Test Championship while playing Test cricket, terming the competition as "utterly confusing".

Stokes’ comments came ahead of the first Test of the Thorpe-Crowe Trophy against New Zealand, which got underway on November 28 in Christchurch.

In 2019, the International Cricket Council introduced the concept of WTC to popularize Test cricket. It is currently in its third edition.

While England finished fourth in the first two editions of the tournament, they are currently ranked sixth in WTC 2023-25 race. The Stokes-led side is already out of contention for a title clash appearance at Lord's next year.

"In all honesty, the World Test Championship is a bit confusing; it is one of those where, you know, we do not really look at it, I do not look at it. It is one of those where, over a long period of time, if you are playing really good cricket and you are getting results that you want, you will end up finding yourself there in the final and in the mix," said Stokes, as quoted by Wisden.

"For me and this team, it is about taking it game by game, series by series, and if you end up finding yourself in the position where you happen to be in that world test championship final, then it is great, but it is a real weird one knowing that you are playing for something over a long period of time."

"I cannot remember if I have ever even given any real time to be specifically thinking about the World Test Championship to be honest because it is utterly confusing, we play a lot more cricket than anyone else does, that is just what we try and focus on, you know, if we play well, we will be there or thereabouts, but if we do not, then we would not be," he added.

Under Stokes, the Three Lions have played 29 Tests, winning 17, losing 11, and drawing just one. While England’s ultra-aggressive approach has divided fans and critics alike, but Stokes has the second-highest win percentage among all post-war English captains who have led in at least five Tests.

His record has been hampered by some poor tours in Asia, a 1-4 series loss to India and a 1-2 loss to Pakistan this year.