A quick quiz question for you.
Who, in the history of Test cricket, has hit the most sixes without scoring a century?
Well done to those of you who said Tim Southee (although this article is about the retired New Zealander, it's not exactly his wildest stab in the dark).
Southee has cleared the ropes 95 times in his Test career but has never cleared triple figures.
Southee has smashed 95 sixes in Test cricket
His best innings remains the 77 off 40 balls he smoked on debut against England in Napier in 2008 when he was 19 – a dazzling knock that included nine sixes.
Southee's Test spell will end as it began, at home to England, with the player walking off his home field at Seddon Park in Hamilton, bringing the curtain down on 16 years at the top.
He might imagine signing a century of sixes, or in a dream world, a full century. The way things have gone for New Zealand with the bat in this series, he is likely to get two runs.
The right time for Southey to withdraw?
Bowling, of course, is Southey's strong suit.
Only one New Zealander, Sir Richard Hadley, has more than 389 Test wickets and no New Zealander has more than 774 international wickets. Only nine men from anywhere have surpassed that second number.
But now seems like the right time for Southey to say goodbye.
Southie will average over 60 with the ball in Test cricket in 2024
His 15 wickets in 10 Tests in 2024 amounted to an average of 61.66 and he has not taken more than one wicket in an innings since March 2023.
His pace dropped and he was outplayed by England, as his series stats read 4-246 across 49 overs, with an average of 61.50 and a strike rate of 73.50.
There was some buzz about the new ball at times, but Southey was largely ineffective. This has led to chatter that it has been going on for too long. There is even speculation that he may not get a Hamilton send-off.
We want to do the right thing and send Tim off in style. It's very special to celebrate someone like Tim, who is certainly a great player in Test cricket. His skill level is very high. He's a great guy, a good storyteller, and never shy about telling a practical joke. We will miss him.
However, with no series on the line – England leading 2-0 with one game to play – and New Zealand's hopes of reaching next year's World Test Championship final at Lord's are largely nilwill likely get one final over before William O'Rourke and Nathan Smith, and if they can get him fit again, Kyle Jamieson will lead the Blackcaps' bowling attack going forward.
Southie's diminishing numbers should not detract from how great he has been for more than a decade and a half, in which he has achieved outside swing, primarily, but also mastered the art of the indirect cut.
He and long-time bowling companion Trent Boult (317 wickets in 78 Tests) are probably unfortunate to be 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 Hadlee has more Test points for New Zealand than Southie (pictured)
Southee is there for New Zealand's greatest victories
New Zealand will never ignore it.
Southey was there when The Kiwis won the World Test Championship in Southampton in 2021took four wickets in the second innings – and struck a six in his only knock with the bat – as his side beat India. He was present in the recent 3-0 win in India as well, As New Zealand became the first team since England in 2012 to defeat the cricket juggernaut on home soil.
While he was not at his best in the subcontinent, Southee began the clean sweep.
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New Zealand handed India their first Test series defeat on home soil in 12 years before going on to cruise to a 3-0 win
He removed India captain Rohit Sharma in the first Test as India were bowled out for just 46then hit four sixes in 65 not out off 73 balls as New Zealand responded with 402 all out.
Then, in the second Test, he bowled Rohit with a crackerjack before taking an athletic catch to long off, to dismiss Ravindra Jadeja, The series victory was clinched and arguably the greatest result in the history of New Zealand men's cricketafter less than a week The women achieved their goal of winning the T20 World Cup.
Southee helps start England's revolution
Southey also had a profound influence on English cricket.
After scoring 7-33 in the 2015 50-over World Cup, beating a weakened England for 123 runs – and Brendon McCullum subsequently captaining the Black Caps past that total by just 12.2 runs – a white-ball revolution erupted, with Ewen's side moving Morgan from chumps to champions in four years.
Southie took seven wickets as New Zealand thrashed England in the 2015 Cricket World Cup
England's comeback ultimately cost New Zealand, with the New Zealanders edging out a boundary countdown in the 2019 World Cup final at Lord's after the nations finished all square in the top 50 plus the Super Over that followed. Lower margins already.
Southie was only a substitute player for New Zealand in that match, but given how much he loves the boundary, he probably could have been useful in the starting XI.
Considering how much he loved the boundary, perhaps his only regret in his Test career is that he never became the all-rounder he threatened to develop into. Seven half-centuries and a batting average of 15.52 seems kind of unfair.
However, it does mean that he remains the answer to the Test question posed at the start of this article, and whatever happens in Hamilton in his last Test, Southie's bowling exploits mean that he will always remain a great player in New Zealand cricket and the game as a player. all.
