New Zealand right-arm medium-fast bowler Tim Southee, who is also famous for big hitting in lower-order batting, ended his Test career at the age of 36 with the December 2024 Hamilton Test against England. Although the hosts New Zealand lost that three-match home Test series by 2-1, Southee ended his Test career with a 423-run win against England in the Hamilton Test.
In international cricket, Southee was known for his incredible outswing bowling skills. Since his Test debut as a teenager, Southee had shown his incredible talent with the ball and even with the bat too.
Not only in New Zealand and England, where the swing bowlers enjoy it most, but Southee even dominated with the ball in Asian countries like Sri Lanka and India.
Between 2022 and 2024, Southee also led the Blackcaps Test side in 14 Tests, including eight home and six away Tests.
Career Overview
Debut:
Tim Southee made his Test debut on 22nd March 2008 during the Napier Test against England. Southee made his Test debut with a fifer (5/55) in his first innings, where England were all out for 253 runs.
After New Zealand were bundled out for only 168 runs, where Southee scored five off 20 balls, England scored 467/7 before the declaration. Chasing down the mammoth fourth innings target of 553 runs, New Zealand replied with a fighting 431 all out.
While Southee didn’t pick a wicket in the third innings of the match, he came to bat in the fourth innings when the Blackcaps were struggling at 329/8. The right-handed no.10 batter stunned with his 77 not out off 40 balls with the help of four fours and nine sixes.
Southee was the only second New Zealand cricketer and the eighth overall cricketer to score 50+ runs in an innings and also claim at least one five-wicket haul on Test debut.
Test Bowling Stats:
Matches | Innings | Wickets | BBI | BBM | Average | Strike rate | 5wkts/10wkts |
107 | 203 | 391 | 7/64 | 10/108 | 30.26 | 60.0 | 15/1 |
Test Batting Stats:
Matches | Innings | Runs scored | Highest score | Average | Strike rate | 100s/50s | 4s/6s |
107 | 156 | 2245 | 77* | 15.48 | 82.68 | 0/7 | 215/98 |
Trophy Achievements
Tim Southee was a crucial member of the New Zealand national cricket team in winning the inaugural ICC World Test Championship (2019-2021) mace after beating India in the final in the 2021 Southampton Test. He was the leading wicket-taker for New Zealand (56 wickets) in that tournament cycle.
Test Captaincy (Timeline: From December 2022 to September 2024)
(Match Results)
Stats | Matches | Wins | Draws | Losses | No Results |
Overall | 14 | 6 | 2 | 6 | 0 |
Home | 8 | 5 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
Away | 6 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 0 |
(Batting and Bowling)
Matches | Runs scored | Highest score | 100s/50s | Wickets | Best bowling figures in an innings | 5wks/10wks |
14 | 260 | 73 | 0/1 | 35 | 5/64 | 1/0 |
Key Test match and series wins under Southee’s leadership
During the 2023 Wellington Test against England, New Zealand were forced to follow-on and won the Test by only one run. While it was the only fourth time that a team won a Test match after enforcing the follow-on, it was the only second time in Test cricket history that a team won by one run.
Under his leadership, New Zealand won two two-match home Test series against Sri Lanka and South Africa.
Southee-led Blackcaps won the away Test against the hosts Bangladesh in Mirpur. It was the only away Test win under Southee’s leadership.
Tim Southee Records and Achievements in Test Cricket
Second most Test wicket-taker as a New Zealand bowler. Only Sir Richard Hadlee has more Test wickets than Southee among the Blackcaps bowlers, with 431 Test wickets.
Southee ended his Test career with the joint fourth-most Test sixes, as the right-handed batter hit 98 Test sixes.
With 15 Test fifers, Southee records the third most Test five-wicket hauls by a New Zealand bowler.
With 234 wickets, Southee ended his Test career as the leading wicket-taker by a New Zealand bowler at home.
With 66 Test wickets against Sri Lanka, Southee holds the record for the most Test wicket-takers as a pacer against Sri Lanka.
With 7/64 bowling figures during the 2012 Bengaluru Test, Southee holds the record for the second-best bowling figures in an innings by a pacer in India in the 21st century.
First New Zealand bowler to record 100 wickets in the ICC World Test Championship. The right-arm pacer completed his Test career with 127 wickets in the ICC World Test Championship. He is still the only Blackcaps to record 100 wickets in the WTC.
Since 2000, among the visiting pacers, only the former South African fast bowler Dale Steyn and the Blackcaps legend Southee have recorded multiple Test fifers, as both recorded this achievement twice.
Southee is the leading wicket taker in New Zealand Cricket History
Statistics:
Home vs away performances
Venue Status | Matches | Innings | Wickets | Best bowling in an innings | Best bowling in a match | 5wks/ 10wks |
Home | 59 | 114 | 234 | 6/62 | 9/110 | 9/0 |
Away | 43 | 79 | 143 | 7/64 | 10/08 | 6/1 |
Neutral | 5 | 10 | 14 | 4/48 | 5/112 | 0/0 |
Records against specific teams
Opposition | Matches | Innings | Wickets | Best bowling in an innings | Best bowling in a match | 5wks/ 10wks |
England | 22 | 41 | 78 | 6/43 | 10/108 | 4/1 |
Australia | 15 | 26 | 41 | 5/69 | 9/162 | 1/0 |
Sri Lanka | 14 | 26 | 66 | 6/68 | 8/120 | 3/0 |
Pakistan | 13 | 26 | 43 | 6/80 | 8/140 | 1/0 |
India | 13 | 25 | 55 | 7/64 | 9/110 | 3/0 |
West Indies | 10 | 20 | 48 | 5/32 | 7/91 | 1/0 |
Bangladesh | 9 | 18 | 33 | 5/94 | 8/142 | 1/0 |
South Africa | 8 | 15 | 19 | 5/35 | 6/68 | 1/0 |
Zimbabwe | 3 | 6 | 8 | 2/8 | 4/96 | 0/1 |
Career Milestones
- Third-fastest New Zealand bowler to complete 300 Test wickets. Fourth fastest New Zealand bowler to complete both 200 and 250 Test wickets. (Retirement status)
- Third New Zealand bowler to complete 350 Test wickets, after Sir Richard Hadlee (431 wickets) and Daniel Vettori (361 wickets).
- After the English cricketer Stuart Broad (2305 runs), Southee (1756 runs) is the only second batter to score 1500+ Test runs after coming to bat at no.9 or lower.
- Southee is among the 10 pacers with the record of 2000+ runs and 350+ wickets in Test career.
- Southee (2245 runs, 391 wickets, and 86 catches) is the only third player in Test cricket history to score 2000+ runs besides the record of 350+ wickets and 75 catches. The other names in this list are Ian Botham (5200 runs, 383 wickets, and 120 catches) and Shane Warne (3154 runs, 708 wickets, and 125 catches).
Tim Southee: Memorable Performances in Test Cricket
29, 6/80 & 2/60 vs Pakistan in the 2016 Hamilton Test
Coming to bat at no.9 when the Blackcaps were struggling at 203/7, Tim Southee played a fiery cameo of 29 off 28 balls with five fours and one six. His batting helped New Zealand score 271 runs in the first innings, which ultimately resulted in the Blackcaps’ 55-run lead after bundling out the visitors for 216 runs. Southee had bowling figures of 21-4-80-6 as he took the first three wickets along with three out of the last four wickets. New Zealand won that Test by 138 runs, where the Player of the Match Southee claimed two wickets in the fourth innings.
4/49 & 5/61 vs India in the 2020 Wellington Test
During the 2020 Wellington Test, New Zealand pacer Tim Southee dominated in both innings with the ball. After his four-fer (20.1-5-49-4) and Kyle Jamieson’s four-fer (16-3-39-4) bundled out the visitors for only 165 runs in the first innings of the Test, Southee’s fifer (21-6-61-5) along with Trent Boult’s four-fer (22-8-39-4) destroyed the visitors for only 191 runs in their second innings. While the hosts won that match by ten wickets, Southee won the Player of the Match award.
1/64 & 4/48, 30 runs vs India in the 2021 Southampton Test
It was the final of the inaugural ICC World Test Championship cycle (2019-2021), where New Zealand won by eight wickets and Kyle Jamieson won the Player of the Match award for his crucial all-round performances (5/31 & 2/30, 21 runs). After India were all out for 217 runs in the first innings, the Blackcaps were once struggling at 192/7. Tim Southee scored a crucial 30 off 46 balls (one four and two sixes), and his team earned an important 32-run lead. While Southee got a wicket in the first innings (22-6-64-1), which was an important wicket of Ravichandran Ashwin (22), Southee had the bowling figures of 19-4-48-4 to bundle out India for 170 runs in their second innings. After dismissing both the openers Shubman Gill (8) and Rohit Sharma (30), Southee took the last two wickets of Mohammed Shami (13) and Jasprit Bumrah (0).
7/64 vs India in the 2012 Bengaluru Test
After New Zealand scored 365 runs in the first innings of the 2012 Bengaluru Test, India were all out for 353 runs, thanks to Tim Southee’s dominant bowling performance. The right-arm pacer first dismissed Gautam Gambhir (2) and Cheteshwar Pujara (9) cheaply, then he took the wickets of the set batters Suresh Raina (55), the centurion Virat Kohli (103), and the skipper MS Dhoni (62). He later dismissed Zaheer Khan (7) and Pragyan Ojha (0) and finished with the bowling figures of 24-6-64-7. Although New Zealand lost that Test by five wickets, Southee set the historic pace bowling figures, which were rare in India in the 21st century.
4/58 & 6/50 vs England in the 2013 Lord’s Test
It was the only Test for Tim Southee where he claimed only a ten-wicket haul in his Test career. After his four-fer (28.2-8-58-4) bowled out the hosts for 232 runs in the first innings of the Test match, his six-fer collapsed the English second innings batting from 159/2 to 213 runs. However, New Zealand lost the Test match as they were all out for 68 runs in the fourth innings target of 239 runs.
Tributes and Reactions
Comments from teammates, coaches, and cricketing legends:
Social media reactions from fans and experts:
Conclusion
That’s it for the Tim Southee era in white kits. We have learned how a disciplined bowler and player can inspire a team to develop a new era. When Southee started his international career, the Blackcaps were massively suffering in a transition period and struggling even at home. However, slowly but steadily New Zealand became a challenging side and Southee guided the national team to create some great histories.
