Kiwi pacer Southee sees his test career in the balance ahead of crucial series vs India that begins from Wednesday.
Kiwi pacer Southee finds himself at a crossroads in his test career. Prior to the opening Test match against India, he will be the focus of a selection debate as the visiting team considers how best to assault Bengaluru and whether to field three quicks.
Southee resigned as captain following the team’s 2-0 loss to Sri Lanka last month. Given his poor performance in the format—he has taken eight wickets at a 73.12 average this year. He may soon lose his spot in the starting XI.
He has a respectable record in India with 20 wickets. This is including a career-best 7 for 64 in Bengaluru 12 years ago. He is still struggling to find the “snap” in his bowling motion. Nevertheless, his spot will probably be under review no matter how New Zealand organises their bowling attack.
Matt Henry has a good chance of joining Will O’Rourke if they play with only two quicks. If they play with three, they would then have to decide between Southee’s experience and Ben Sears’ added pace, who impressed on his debut against Australia in March.
Although Southee and Gary Stead agreed that their conversations following the Sri Lanka series would remain confidential. Stead also noted that they were “delicate” and that selection freedom was increased in the absence of Southee as captain.
“Like all Test tours and series we have reviews at the end of it. Tim and I had a conversation around it, then he made the decision to stand down,” Stead said. “He thought it was in the best interests of the team. I supported his decision around that.
“It allows different players to be considered in roles and as a selector and coach you are always trying to put what you think is the very best team out there. With Tim as captain, he was the guy who was starting for us and leading that team and think we were always looking at the options that were best for the team going forward.”