A quick quiz question for you.
Who has the most sixes in test cricket history without scoring a century?
Cheers to those of you who told Tim South (although given this article is about a retired New Zealander, it’s not the worst shot in the dark).
Southee cleared the ropes 95 times in his Test career but never cleared three figures.
Southee smashed 95 sixes in Test cricket
His best innings remains the 77 off 40 balls he smashed on debut against England in Napier in 2008 at the age of 19;
Southee’s Test tenure will end as it began, at home in England, when the bowler bows out on his home ground at Seddon Park in Hamilton, bringing down the curtain on 16 years at the top.
He may want to sign off with the sixth century or the end of a century in the dream world. The way things have gone with the bat in New Zealand this series, he is likely to get two moves.
Time is right for Southee to bow out.
Bowling, of course, is Southee’s strongest suit.
Only one New Zealander, the great Sir Richard Hadley, has more than his 389 Test wickets, and no New Zealander has more than his international haul of 774. Only nine men from anywhere have eclipsed that second figure.
But now is the right time for Southey to say goodbye.
Southee averages over 60 with the ball in Test cricket in 2024
His 15 wickets in 10 Tests in 2024 came at an average of 61.66 and he has not claimed more than two wickets in an innings since March 2023.
His pace has dipped and England have dropped him as his series stats are a dismal 4-246 in 49 overs at an average of 61.50 and a strike rate of 73.50.
There has been some rumblings with the new ball, but Southee has been largely ineffective, leading to talk that he has gone on for too long. There has even been speculation that he may not say goodbye to Hamilton.
We want to do the right thing and send Tim off in style. It’s quite special to celebrate someone like Tim, who is certainly a Test cricketer. He’s a great guy to be around, never mind shy of a practical joke.He will be missed.
However, with the series not on the line, England lead 2-0 with one game to play and New Zealand’s hopes of reaching next year’s World Test Cup final in near non-existent conditions at Lord’sthe odds are he gets one final game ahead of William O’Rourke, Nathan Smith and, if they can ever get him fit again, Kyle Jamieson will lead the way for the Black Caps’ bowling attack.
Southee’s declining numbers should not detract from how great he has been for more than a decade and a half, producing extraordinary moves, mostly, but also mastering the art of finesse.
He and long-time bowling pal Trent Boult (317 wickets in 78 Tests) are perhaps unfortunate to have been in the same era as England’s James Anderson and Stuart Broad, meaning their influence on the game can sometimes be overlooked.
Only Sir Richard Headley has more Test wickets for New Zealand than Southee (pictured)
Southee there for New Zealand’s biggest wins
It will never be ignored by New Zealand, mind you.
Southee was there when The Kiwis have won the 2021 World Test Championship in Southamptontaking four second-innings wickets and hitting two sixes with the bat as his team beat India. And he was there for India’s recent 3-0 win too, as New Zealand became the first team since England in 2012 to defeat that cricketer on their home turf.
Although not in the best form of his vintage in the subcontinent, Southee started the clean sweep.
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New Zealand lost a Test series at home for the first time in 12 years before securing a 3-0 victory.
He dismissed Indian captain Rohit Sharma in the first Test as India bowled out for just 46then hit four sixes not out in 73 balls on 65 as New Zealand replied with 402 all out.
Then, in the second Test, he bowled a cracker to Rohit before taking a sporting catch at long-on to remove Ravindra Jadeja. clinched the series win and arguably the biggest haul in New Zealand men’s cricket historyless than a week later the women got theirs by winning the T20 World Cup.
Southey helps start the English Revolution
Southee has also had a major impact on English cricket.
After his 7-33 in the 2015 50-over World Cup bowled out a weak England for 123, and Brendon McCullum later bowled out the Black Caps in just 12.2 overs; Become champions within four years.
Southee took seven wickets as New Zealand demolished England at the 2015 Cricket World Cup
That England resurgence ultimately cost New Zealand when the Kiwis won the 2019 World Cup final at Lord’s after the nations finished with 50 overs to spare in regulation, as well as the Super Over that followed.
Southee was only a substitute for New Zealand in that match, but given how much he loves the boundary, he might have been useful in the XI.
And given how much he loves the boundary, perhaps his only regret in his Test career will be that he never became the all-rounder he threatened to develop into.Seven half-centuries and an average of 15.52 seem a bit unfair.
The fresh-faced southpaw warms up ahead of the 2008 New Zealand clash
That said, he remains the answer to the quiz question at the start of this article, and whatever happens in his final Test in Hamilton, Southee’s bowling exploits mean he will always be a great master of New Zealand cricket and the game as a whole.
