Tim Southee says a lack of express pace has forced him to keep seeking improvements.
Southee took five wickets in the World Test Championship final win for New Zealand over India to add an exclamation point to what has been a remarkable late-career surge.
New Zealand’s third-highest wicket-taker in test cricket history has been a superstar over the past three years and admitted hes worked hard at getting better.
Redemption for the Black Caps on the world stage, after beating India to take the inaugural World Test Championship. Putting the ghosts of the 2019 ODI final behind them, an eight wicket win is earning the side plaudits from across the world.
The 32-year-old has captured 314 wickets at an average of 28.22 in 79 tests since making a memorable debut with ball and bat versus England in Napier in 2008.
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Yet since March 2018 a decade after his first red-ball appearance for the Black Caps Southee has grabbed 106 wickets at 21.87 in just 21 tests.
It’s been nice to be able to put some numbers on the board but I think like any other international sportsperson, youre always looking at ways to get better, he said.
The more you play, the more you know your game.
I obviously dont have express pace, so youre looking to skin the cat differently and thats using subtle variations. Obviously I rely heavily on my outswing, but with the ability to move the Dukes ball a little bit more than what you can with the Kookaburra … a lot of work went into that series trying to get the ball being able to move both ways.
Southee removed Indian openers Shubman Gill and Rohit Sharma late on day five of the six-day final with deliveries that went against the grain of his trademark outswing in a match he described as the most special moment of my career so far.
New Zealand captain Kane Williamson and Tim Southee hold the World Test Championship Mace after victory over India in Southampton.
Black Caps bowling coach Shane Jurgensen said the ball in particular that trapped Sharma lbw had been a long time in the making.
Probably over the last two years, and at our camps at Lincoln in May he was playing around with a bit of an inswinger.
It was good it took him a while to get it and then all of a sudden he learned around possibly turning the ball around the other way and bowling it the exact same way. That seamed to have a little more pace on it compared to his inswinger.
That was at a really crucial time in fact both those wickets were to give us a chance to get Virat Kohli in early to get a good look at him, Jurgensen said.
That’s been a credit to Tim. Hes always looking to improve and hes been such an outstanding performer for New Zealand for such a long time.
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Tim Southee has the third most test wickets for New Zealand.
Southee could yet overtake Daniel Vettori on second spot as the countrys most prolific test bowler Vettori finished with 361 wickets, while Sir Richard Hadlee still remains seemingly untouchable at the top with 431.
He’s definitely keen to continue as a mainstay of the test side, with NZs next test adventure being two away games in November against their fallen rivals from the final in Southampton.
Playing more test cricket would be nice, more three-match series than two … it’s tough with the Future Tours progamme in place, he said.
Test cricket’s the pinnacle of the game and you always want to play more.