Southee’s summer of discontent
Black Caps test captain Tim Southee had a home summer to forget in 2023-24 – one of the worst by any New Zealand seamer in the history of the game.
He led his side to two wins over an understrength South Africa, then to two defeats against Australia – in matches that were more closely fought than most trans-Tasman clashes of late.
But he did not lead with his efforts as a front-line bowler, taking only six wickets at an average of 71.33 and a strike rate of 127.1 – both far worse than his career marks of 29.61 and 59.5.
His captaincy – specifically his use of his bowlers – was also a source of frustration throughout, and especially in the two matches against Australia.
Southee ended the second trans-Tasman test at Hagley Oval on Monday taking an ambivalent stance on whether he would be in charge the next time the Black Caps assembled. Fellow seamer Matt Henry has since backed him to continue.
But when you peel back the layers of his bowling and his captaincy over the past six weeks, the question has to be asked whether it’s time to move on.
Southee the bowler
Southee didn’t just have a bad summer with the ball.
He had one of the worst home summers by any Kiwi seam bowler in the country’s 94-year history of hosting tests, using the common metrics of average (runs per wicket) and strike rate (balls per wicket).
Cricinfo’s Statsguru makes it easy to find a list of New Zealand seamers who have bowled at least 60 overs across at least four innings during any given season.
That gives you a group of 177 bowler-seasons, from Ted Badcock in 1929 through to Southee, Henry and Will O’Rourke in 202324.
Southee’s average of 71.33 this summer was the third-worst mark and his strike rate of 127.1 was the sixth-worst mark.
Southee was the leader – at least on paper – of the Black Caps’ attack, taking the new ball every time it was available.
While he has never been known for his pace, he was steadily operating in the 120s this summer, and didn’t seem to have an extra gear. His threat, especially with the new ball, wasn’t what it has been for most of the past decade.
Southee the captain
There is plenty about cricket captaincy that takes place out of sight, but one thing that is plain to see is how a skipper uses his bowlers.
Day three of the second test against South Africa in Hamilton was when the alarm bells started ringing.
Southee turned to spinners Rachin Ravindra and Glenn Phillips in tandem before lunch, instead of following up a fiery spell from Will O’Rourke with Neil Wagner, who eventually proved to be the bowler who made the next breakthrough.
Turning the heat down helped the Proteas
to recover from 39-3 to 202-4, where a stunning catch by Phillips sparked a collapse of 31-6, with the off-spinner himself taking a pair of wickets.
After Phillips showed he has a knack for making things happen, his absence from the bowling crease on the second morning of the first test against Australia in Wellington was bizarre.
Southee tried five bowlers across 30.1 overs – and even had to go to himself, O’Rourke and Henry a second time – before the visitors’ last-wicket partnership came to an end at a record-breaking 116.
When Phillips took five wickets in Australia’s second innings, the decision not to use him earlier looked even odder.
Then came day four at Hagley Oval, which began with the Black Caps needing six wickets for their first home win over Australia in 31 years and the visitors needing 202 runs to reach their target of 279.
The first puzzler came just before lunch, with Australia 126-5.
Scott Kuggeleijn bowled only three overs in the second innings in Wellington and only five in the first innings in Christchurch, where he was said to be battling after taking a blow on the foot while batting, conceding 48 runs while taking no wickets.
With Southee, Henry and debutant Ben Sears all having had a crack, it seemed time to turn to Phillips, while there were still more than 150 runs to play with.
Instead, there were three wild overs from Kuggeleijn that went for 25 runs, including 15 byes and leg byes. In the seven overs from his introduction to lunch, 48 runs were scored, and a lot of the pressure was lifted.
Phillips did come on the over before lunch and continued after the break, but where everyone was expecting Henry or Sears – easily the two most likely seamers – alongside him in the second session, Southee went with himself.
It was 11 overs after lunch that Sears was brought back and struck twice, giving the Black Caps a faint glimmer of hope, but nothing more.
What next?
Southee signed off his final press conference of the summer with a non-committal “we’ll see” when asked if he would still be captain when the Black Caps resume test cricket duties in Asia from September, against Afghanistan, Sri Lanka and India.
The veteran’s experience in those conditions could be a feather in his cap in the immediate future. It would be risky to assume Henry’s outstanding home form will translate to success on the sub-continent, where he has played only three tests – two of them as far back as 2016.
One of O’Rourke or Sears will surely have to play and offer some extra pace in what will likely be a two-seamer combination alongside a handful of spin options, which will put the squeeze on.
Back home for three tests against England in November and December, more options will come into the thinking, such as Nathan Smith, who is handy with the bat if there remains a desire to play four seamers, and Jacob Duffy.