‘That really gets the blood boiling’ Tim Southee has his eyes on the prize for the World Test Champs final
Wins were hard to come by in Tim Southee’s early days in test cricket. Now, the Black Caps will play in the first World Test Championship final. By
Tim Southee jokes the Black Caps’ new wave have it easy compared to the side’s senior pros.
Test wins were few and far between in his early days of international cricket in a New Zealand team, renowned for inconsistency.
Debuting as a 19-year-old in 2008, he won just one of his first 14 tests and had to wait seven tests to taste victory – a home win over Bangladesh two years later.
Seeing the Black Caps rise to No 1 in the world test rankings (they are now second) for the first time and a World Test Championship final looming against India (in Southampton from June 18-22), the senior paceman is justifiably proud of his side’s journey.
They have won nine of their last 11 test series, including a 1-1 draw against Sri Lanka, and are unbeaten in their last six matches.
‘‘Ross [Taylor] and I quite often laugh about it because it took so long to have those wins. Guys are coming in and Kyle [Jamieson] has won six test matches already and hasn’t lost a test match,’’ Southee said.
‘‘The guys who come in have been able to make that step up from domestic cricket to international cricket and I think that’s part of the environment, they’re comfortable.
‘‘I think you’re getting a good group of guys coming through and a core group that have been there for a while now [and] have learned from those earlier days when things weren’t so successful.’’
Southee and the second group of the Black Caps’ New Zealandbased test squad depart for England tomorrow. After completing quarantine, they will start preparing for two test series against England, beginning at Lord’s on June 2.
This will be Southee’s fourth tour of duty as a test player to England, having previously travelled there in 2008 (his first away series), and 2013 and 2015.
He has flourished with the swinging Duke ball in seamfriendly conditions, taking 20 wickets at 34.30 in five tests in England. That included a careerbest match return of 10-108 at Lord’s in a losing cause in 2013
– a match where New Zealand were rolled for 68 in their second innings, chasing 239 to win.
‘‘I remember coming off and thinking if we can get through to lunch maybe one down we’re a chance. Stuart
Broad went on one of his rampages he’s done so many times (taking 7-44) throughout his career and it just blew us apart in that couple of hours before lunch.’’
The hand-stitched Duke ball, which is used for test matches in England, will naturally dominate discussion leading into the tests. With a more pronounced seam it typically swings for longer periods and holds its shape, which will excite Southee and the New Zealand quicks, who use the Kookaburra ball at home.
At New Zealand’s two training camps at Lincoln, players reacquainted themselves with the Duke balls, which were unleashed from their packaging and used in the nets.
Southee stressed they needed to put it in the right areas and be disciplined.
‘‘There’s all the talk about it swings more and it stays harder for longer, which is great for us as swing bowlers, but I think it’s also remembering the basics and not trying to do too much with it, if it is starting to swing a bit.
‘‘It’s still about finding ways to take wickets when it’s not going to swing because it’s not going to swing the whole time we’re there. It’s working out ways to be threatening when it’s not swinging.’’ Playing in the inaugural World Test Championship final would be a career highlight for Southee, who featured in the 2015 ODI World Cup final against Australia at the MCG. He was in the World Cup squad for the 2019 edition in England, but didn’t make the XI for the controversial final against England, where New Zealand lost on a boundary countback following a tied match and super over.
‘‘I love test cricket. For me it’s my most treasured format. I love all three, but test cricket is something that really gets the blood boiling.
‘‘Being the first [World Test Championship final] it will be pretty special as well. India in England is unusual on its own, but it’s great to test yourself against one of the best sides and they have been for a long period of time. It should be a great match.’’
With 13 years of international cricket behind him, 32-year-old Southee had no timeline for retirement in his plans. Despite struggling to crack New Zealand first-choice ODI XI in recent years, he was eager to remain involved in all three forms, especially with another ODI
World Cup scheduled for India in 2023 – which would be his fourth.
‘‘As long as you’re still able to perform and reach those high standards it takes to represent your country then I think age is only a number.
‘‘You look at the likes of [England test veteran] James Anderson who is 38. He’s still arguably bowling as good as he ever has.
‘‘I think cricketers in general look after themselves a lot better. We’re a lot fitter as a group, we train a lot on the strength and conditioning side of things. I think you’ll see players play for longer.’’
His test bowling numbers make for impressive reading. Since the start of 2019, he has taken 65 wickets from 14 matches at 24.23 – the fourth most internationally. Only Broad, Australia’s Pat Cummins (both 84) and India’s Ravi Ashwin (67) have nabbed more over that span.
This summer, Southee became the third New Zealand bowler in history to capture 300 test wickets. He has 302 and is 60 away from moving past Daniel Vettori into second on the alltime list. Sir Richard Hadlee holds the record with 431.
Southee is also gradually edging towards the 100-test club, having played 77 matches. Only four New Zealanders have achieved that special feat – Vettori (112 matches), Stephen Fleming (111), Ross Taylor (105), and Brendon McCullum (101).
‘‘Those things come around when you play for a long period of time,’’ he said.
‘‘To play one test match was amazing, but if you can reach that milestone it would be nice and something that would be pretty special. It’s one match at a time as it is.
‘‘I love playing for this team and it’s an absolute dream to play for New Zealand. Any time you get to do it, it’s pretty special.’’