Southee has thus far endured a horror 2024, having taken just 8 wickets in 11 innings at an average of 73.12
It was only two weeks ago that Tim Southee was leading New Zealand and eyeing crossing that 400-wicket mark with the ball, but the 35-year-old, who relinquished captaincy at the start of this month, is now staring at the possibility of being left out of the side for the first Test against India in Bengaluru, starting October 16 (Wednesday).
And that’s got to do with his own form. Southee has thus far endured a horror 2024, having taken just 8 wickets in 11 innings at an average of 73.12. His form has now been poor for an extended period as well, with his average with the ball reading 38.86 in 21 Tests since the start of 2022.
With the 35-year-old no longer skipper, New Zealand head coach Gary Stead admitted that there is no guarantee that the right-armer will be in the BlackCaps’ starting XI for the first Test.
“Like all Test tours and series we have reviews at the end of it and Tim and I had a conversation around it, then he made the decision to stand down,” Stead said ahead of the Bengaluru Test.
“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.”
Stead revealed that Southee himself has acknowledged the fact that he hasn’t been anywhere close to his best with the red-ball in recent times. But the New Zealand head coach stated that the veteran has been doing everything he could to rediscover that golden touch. Southee, according to Stead, has been working extensively with bowling coach Jacob Oram to snap out of this poor run.
“From my conversations with Tim he recognised he hasn’t been at his best but there’s certainly no desire to not get back there,” Stead said.
“He’s working hard in the background, he’s doing everything he can and trying to rediscover what that little thing he feels is missing is.
“There’s a couple of little technical points Tim’s working on. He’s working with [Jacob] Oram around them. We’ve looked back at quite a bit of video from previous years and times he’s played in India and had success. It’s just trying to rediscover that and find a little bit, I guess you could call it snap back into his action.”
If Southee is dropped for the first Test, then, in Bengaluru, the BlackCaps will be without both him and Kane Williamson, who will be unavailable for the initial part of the tour due to a groin injury. Will Young, it is believed, will come in place of Williamson for the first Test.
India will be without a big gun in Mohammed Shami too, but Stead asserted that the strength in depth in India is such that the team does not, at any point, seem affected by injuries.
“If they have an injury it doesn’t seem to affect them like other teams. There’s someone else who can come in who is equally adept,” he said.
“They have the mass of numbers they can call but they are also very skilful and are an experienced team with a lot of Test caps. They play a brand of cricket that makes it very difficult for you over here but that’s the challenge that’s ahead of us.”
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