Those Tim Southee best test knocks in full
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So the Tim Southee farewell tour is about to begin. A true servant of New Zealand who, strangely, got a huge amount of criticism for his batting, which is odd given he was a bowler who has taken the second most wickets in test cricket behind Sir Richard. And this from a nation that rejoices in Chris Martin’s batting.
Since it’s clearly all about his batting here is a list in ascending order of his best efforts with the willow. Statchat, the number of sixes hit included, because that’s always been the ongoing subplot.
68 v Sri Lanka, Christchurch 2018
Momentum is a funny thing in cricket. t’s Christchurch so naturally Sri Lanka opted to bowl. Soon after lunch New Zealand were 64/6 and in all sorts of trouble. Enter Southee who made 68 off 65 to change the flow; New Zealand getting to 178.
Boult ran through Sri Lanka on the second day, and the tide had really gone out.
New Zealand went on to win that one by 423 runs. Which in retrospect was pretty comfortable
Sixes : 3
50 and 0* v England, Christchurch 2018
The hosts went into this test on a high having beaten England by an innings the week before including rolling them for 58.
In tis test England was on top early looking to square the series. In reply to 307 (Southee 6/62) New Zealand was in real trouble at 36/5. Watling and big Col started the resistance but a 50 from Southee on the morning of Day 3 was a big part of limiting England’s lead to 29.
His second innings was even more clever. Sodhi and Wagner had hung around for the best part of the last session to secure an unlikely draw before Wagner was dismissed around 6pm in April fading light. Southee walked out slowly, took guard a few times, and after 1 minute and 59 seconds successfully appealed for fading light.
Sixes : 1 and 0
The innings that sparked the years of vitriol due to false expectations. A little known 18 year old made his debut, took a 5WI in the first innings, but for some reason the public focussed on the batting and signed up with the fantasy that suddenly the new Chris Cairns had been plucked out of thin air.
Almost every piece of flak he has received since then has referenced this knock. The fact Chris Martin hit a four in that partnership was equally amazing.
Sixes : 9
30 WTC Final, Southampton 2021
In a famously low scoring match New Zealand had gone from 134/3 to 192/7 when Southee came out to bat, and were still 25 in arreas. That score took New Zealand to a 32 run lead which was massive in the wash-up of that treasured victory.
The 4/48 in the second innings was handy too.
Sixes : 2
This is not recency bias as it changed not only the trajectory of a test, but arguably the series.
If New Zealand had bowled India out for 46 and went on to lose the first test it seems unlikely they would have won the tow that followed.
The soon to be history making side was 187 ahead when Southee came out to bat on a flattening pitch. He batted around Ravindra for a bit before doing Southee things. The lead was over 300 when he departed, with just the four sixes, and seemed to have instilled confidence in Ravindra.
Sixes : 4
The Greatest Test of All TimeTM. At 103/7 chasing 435 things were seriously grim. Southee and Blundell hung on to stumps under grey skies and there was a real melancholy about. In the morning Southee came out and played a proper Southee innings. 73 off 49 with six sixes. Useful runs and he hung around for long enough to bring Anderson and Broad into the attack which was a factor in the follow-on.
Sixes : 6