Southee finally finds grounds for approval
He struggled for an answer, Tim Southee, but wasn’t it a relief being asked to find one.
Nearly a decade on from his first test in Wellington, the senior Black Caps swing bowler was cheered off the Basin Reserve after snaring his first five-wicket bag at the ground and fourth-best career figures.
His 6-68 off 27 overs, to help dismiss Sri Lanka for 282 on the second day of the first test, comfortably beat his previous best in an innings at the Basin: 3-24 against West Indies in 2013.
Across 11 tests in Wellington, stretching back to April 2009 against India, it was bizarre New Zealand’s fourth-highest test wicket-taker had experienced such a lean time and arrived for this match with a Basin bowling average of 46.
‘‘Good question. I honestly don’t know. I’ve bowled well here at times and other times I haven’t bowled so well. It’s nice to get some wickets here,’’ Southee said.
‘‘You have certain grounds around the world where you turn up and have done well in the past.
‘‘Here, it’s always a nice place to play and nice to now finally have had some reasonable success.’’
Indeed, just down the road at Westpac Stadium, bowling with the white Kookaburra in nine one-day internationals, Southee has 25 wickets at 17.92.
Southee turned 30 last week and, as questions lingered over his continued effectiveness at test level with Matt Henry and Lockie Ferguson pushing hard, he responded with two of his four best returns in his last three tests.
In the series-clinching draw with England in Christchurch in April, Southee snared 6-62. He was then benched for the first two tests against Pakistan in the United Arab Emirates before returning in Abu Dhabi, taking 3-42 on the final day in the Black Caps’ charge to victory.
He and fellow quicks Trent Boult and Neil Wagner arrived in Wellington with a spring in their legs, eyeing pace, bounce and green grass a world away from the UAE dustbowls.
Southee also relished the swing on a calm Wellington Saturday morning, keeping it full and snaring three wickets in his first two overs.
He then had to change tack as Sri Lanka’s Dimuth Karunaratne (79) and Angelo Mathews (83) dug in and showed the pitch was good for batting.
Wagner then led a familiar short-pitched barrage to a leg side field on the bouncy surface and Southee followed suit.
He removed captain Dinesh Chandimal and Mathews to the leg side trap, and marvelled at Wagner’s mastery of the method.
‘‘It was a dull period where they got a good partnership when they needed it [133 between Karunaratne and Mathews]. We needed to try something and it worked,’’ Southee said of the barrage.
‘‘I don’t think I could do it for 10 overs like he [Wagner] does.
‘‘He’s phenomenal at it. It takes a lot of effort and energy and the way he’s done it for a long time is, some would say mad, but that’s just Waggy. He’ll do anything for the side.’’
When Southee finished the innings with No 11 Lahiru Kumara’s wicket, his test career tally moved to 230, within three of third-placed Chris Martin on the New Zealand all-time list.