Wickets please says Southee
Tim Southee knows more wickets would be nice, but he’s not too worried about his one-day bowling form.
The senior man in the Black Caps’ attack will captain the side when they play Sri Lanka in a one-off Twenty20 match at Eden Park in Auckland tonight, but it’s his form in the other white-ball format that’s in the spotlight.
Three of the four quicks that featured in the recent ODI series win – Trent Boult, Lockie Ferguson, and Matt Henry – have taken wickets at a good clip in recent years, averaging between 26 and 31 with strike rates between 28 and 31 since the last World Cup.
Then there’s Southee, averaging 45 with a strike rate of 47 in the same period, having just had two of the worst years of his career in both metrics.
‘‘There’s times where I’ve felt like I’ve bowled really well and haven’t taken wickets, and that’s just the nature of limited-overs stuff,’’ said Southee, when asked how he felt he was tracking.
‘‘As a side we’ve won a lot in the last couple of years and it’s nice to contribute in some way. You’re always looking to take more wickets but as well as doing that, there’s a job at the other end when someone like Boulty or whoever’s on fire.’’
Four doesn’t go into three so one of the seam quartet will miss out on the first-choice XI come June, perhaps two if a second spinner makes the cut.
With eight ODIs between now and then, the next against India at the end of this month, as well as a few more T20s and tests – where he has been in excellent form – Southee isn’t looking too far ahead.
‘‘As an international player, you’re always trying to get better. There’s a number of things you’re working on and you’re always trying to improve.
‘‘It’s obviously a big year with the World Cup, but we’re still jugging three formats and there’s a lot of other cricket to be played before then. In this side you take one game at a time, obviously with that end goal of a World Cup in the back of your mind. Personally, it’s just about taking each game and each opportunity as it comes.’’
The Black Caps quicks were fairly expensive during the ODI series just gone, with all-rounder Thisara Perera in particular giving them some stick, and while more of the same could be in store in the shorter format, Southee said it wouldn’t be a case of death bowling from ball one tonight.
‘‘It’s more about being smart and adaptable in Twenty20 cricket because everything happens in a short space of time, any changes have to be pretty quick.
‘‘It’s just trying to be a step ahead and assessing the conditions and the key moments in a game, times where you’re trying to shut a batsman down, or where you’re trying to take wickets to slow the run rate down as well.
‘‘I wouldn’t say it’s death from ball one, but it’s about being aggressive and trying to take wickets, because it’s wickets that kill you in T20 cricket.’’
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