Ultimate for me to win a Test Championship final: Wagner

Neil Wagner, a Test specialist for New Zealand, has been a real workhorse over the years and his contribution to the side has been hailed by many. Before the final, Wagner likened the tournament to a World Cup and as New Zealand lifted the trophy, the short-ball specialist stated that it was the ultimate moment for him as a cricketer.

"Never [dreamed of it]," Wagner said in a virtual media interaction. "No, that (playing white-ball cricket for New Zealand) was sort of a dream and a ship that had sailed to be fair - thinking about the white-ball World Cup in some sort of a way. So, when the Test Championship came around and it was sort of explained to us a couple of years ago what it's going to be like, I got quite excited by the idea. I thought it was quite special and I thought it was something that's going to make Test cricket the way it is right now and make it quite exciting and add a bit more perspective to it.

"So, finally, I guess, getting to an ICC event and with something as big as that… how hard Test cricket is and to be able to do that for a period of two years; every Test match is extremely hard to try and put a performance in and win it. There's a lot of things that's got to go your way and lot of hard work you got to do over five days.

"To then get into a final, which was obviously rain-affected and still play our brand of cricket and be positive and to get there, personally for me, I can't speak for everyone, this is the ultimate for me to win a Test Championship final though it's the first one and probably hard to compare with others, it's definitely the pinnacle of the game for me. And to win it against a quality team like India and the way we did and then to see what it has meant to everyone… The support back home and support that was around there - the text messages keep flowing in, phone keeps buzzing and to see what it has meant for Kiwi supporters and family and friends, it means a lot to us too. So, it's definitely right up there."

He also added that when the team checked into the customs, they were greeted in a magnificent way and everyone wanted a piece of the mace. 

"I don't think I have ever walked into customs and got greeted the way we did. Everyone was like straightaway: 'Congratulations!' Pretty happy, [they] grabbed our passports and all they wanted to ask was 'Where's the mace? Where's the mace?' Obviously, when they saw it, the smiles on their faces and what it brought to them, it sort of hit home pretty hard… What it meant to people back home and obviously getting across the line, winning a Test Championship final, and bringing that trophy back like that," Wagner said. 

"I remember watching as a kid a lot of other teams lifting that [mace] up after finishing a Test cycle being No.1 in the world and what it meant to them. So, to be able to win it in a one-off Test match like that is a pretty special feeling and we could see what it meant to other people once you got home."