Southee’s Uncertainty Over Test Captaincy Ahead of NZ’s Subcontinent Tour
As New Zealand gears up for its Test tours to the subcontinent later this year, including series against Sri Lanka and India as part of the World Test Championship, Tim Southee has expressed doubts about leading the team, particularly given the challenging conditions in these countries.
This comes on the heels of a disappointing loss against Australia, which has left the team and its leadership under scrutiny.
Despite recently playing his 100th Test in Christchurch, Southee’s bowling form has been a cause for concern, with only four wickets in the two matches against Australia. His performance in the series against South Africa was similarly lacklustre, with just two wickets across two matches.
“We’ll see,” was Southee’s response when asked about captaining New Zealand in the subcontinent. “Obviously, the team composition changes slightly in Asia, with spin becoming the main threat. But we’ll deal with this tonight and look forward to what’s to come.”
Southee’s decision to stick with pace bowlers until the last over before lunch, rather than utilising Glenn Phillips’ potent spin, proved costly. Alex Carey and Mitchell Marsh capitalised on this, building a solid 140-run partnership that swung the game in Australia’s favour.
Phillips had previously claimed the wickets of Marsh and Carey in the first match, marking his maiden five-for in Test cricket.
“Hindsight is a wonderful thing,” Southee admitted. “But given the number of times we went past the bat in that first session, we felt that seam was the option. We created a few chances through that first session. I think we felt that seam was the right move.”
Ben Sears did manage to bring New Zealand back into the game with consecutive wickets of Marsh and Mitchell Starc, but Australia still needed 59 runs with three wickets in hand.
However, Cummins once again came to Australia’s rescue, partnering with Carey for an unbeaten 62-run stand that took the visitors across the line with a boundary, sealing the series 2-0.
The loss has resulted in New Zealand slipping to third in the World Test Championship standings, while Australia has climbed to the second spot.