New Zealand and India will be facing each other in the final of the inaugural edition of the World Test Championship (WTC) at Southampton on June 18, New Zealand pacer Neil Wagner said that the match will be like an upcoming World Cup final for him.

Since the left-arm quick has never played a World Cup final in white-ball cricket and is excited to represent his country on this occasion.

“Yeah, it is like a World Cup final for me. The biggest disappointment, I guess, in my career is that I’ve never really played a white-ball game for New Zealand or never been able to crack into the T20 or the one-day game,” Wagner was quoted saying by ESPNCricinfo.

The 35-year-old then talked about how he wants to put all his energy in the longest format of the game and treat this WTC final as a World Cup final.

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“That ship has probably sailed now and I don’t think the opportunity will ever come. For me now, it’s about putting all my focus and energy into Test cricket and to be able to play in a World Test Championship final is like a World Cup for me,” he said.

The New Zealanders are already in the UK as they are scheduled to play a two-match Test series against England before the big final at Southampton.

The Kiwi bowler then talked about how playing Test cricket in different parts of the world is different.

“Test cricket is tough and it’s never easy playing in different parts of the world, where it can be challenging. You get to test your skills and ability against the best players in the toughest situations. That’s where I want to put my hand up and have the ball in my hand,” Wagner signed off.

(With PTI inputs)