Tim Southee, New Zealand’s legendary seam bowler, has announced that he will retire from Test cricket on his home ground in Hamilton next month, at the conclusion of England’s tour of New Zealand.
Southee, 35, has claimed 385 Test wickets in 104 appearances to date, second among New Zealanders behind Sir Richard Hadlee (431), and is set to bring his career full circle, having debuted against England as a 19-year-old in Napier in March 2008. He will, however, make himself available for the World Test Championship final at Lord’s in June if New Zealand qualify.
He recently played a key role in New Zealand’s historic 3-0 series win in India, the first by a visiting team since 2012-13. Though he claimed just three wickets across the first two Tests, these included India’s captain, Rohit Sharma, as they were bowled out for 46 in the series opener, and their top-scorer, Sarfaraz Khan, for 150 to the second innings.
Southee had handed the Test captaincy over to Tom Latham prior to that series, and has yet to decide whether he wants to continue his white-ball career into New Zealand’s post-Christmas tour to Sri Lanka.
“Representing New Zealand was all I ever dreamed of growing up,” Southee said in his retirement announcement. “To play for the Black Caps for 18 years has been the greatest honour and privilege, but the time feels right to now step away from the game that has given so much to me.
“Test cricket holds a special place in my heart, so to be able to play such a big series against the same opponent my Test career began against all those years ago, and on three grounds that are incredibly special to me, seems the perfect way to end my time in the Black Cap.
In a storied career, Southee will be remembered as New Zealand’s most prolific bowler in international cricket, with 770 wickets across formats to date, ahead of Daniel Vettori (696). No other bowler in international cricket has matched his feat of reaching 300 Test wickets, 200 ODI wickets and 100 T20I wickets.
His career-best performance of 7 for 33 came in the ODI format, a famous display against England at Wellington in the 2015 World Cup, which helped to propel his side to the first of two consecutive appearances in the World Cup final. And though New Zealand missed out on both occasions, agonisingly so in 2019, Southee was instrumental in their long-awaited slice of ICC silverware. At Southampton in June 2021, he claimed second-innings figures of 4 for 48 in their World Test Championship final victory over India.
He will also be remembered for his improbable batting prowess, with a total of 93 Test sixes to date – second only to Brendon McCullum among New Zealanders, and by a distance the highest ratio of sixes for any player with more than 2000 Test runs to his name. Nine of those came in his maiden Test in 2008, when he struck 77 not out in the fourth innings, still his highest score in Tests.
“I’ll always be so grateful to my family, friends, coaches, our fans and everyone involved in the game who has supported me and my career over the years,” he added. “It’s been an amazing ride and I wouldn’t change a thing.”
Gary Stead, the New Zealand head coach, said: “Tim’s durability and resilience has been outstanding. He’s an incredibly tough competitor who gets himself up for big occasions and is rarely injured. Tim cares deeply about the team, its reputation and performances, and he will be missed within the Black Caps environment. He now deserves some time with his family and I’m sure he will reflect very positively in years to come about his impact and achievements in the game.”
Southee indicated he would remain available for domestic and franchise cricket.
