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Sport Nation
Retiring Southee deserves to go out on his own terms with third-Test swansong in Hamilton
Sport Nation • December 9th, 2024 10:00 am
Photo: Photosport
Demands for the Blackcaps to make some courageous selection changes with an eye to the future have become deafening in the wake of their second successive demolition against England.
Yet again, the visitors needed less than three days to march to an eight-wicket victory in Wellington, securing their first Test series triumph on NZ soil since 2007/08.
Sport Nation commentator Ian Smith is among the voices urging Stead and his cohorts to use the upcoming third Test - for all intents and purposes, a dead rubber - as a chance to give some of the emerging talent an opportunity to impress ahead of the new World Test Championship cycle and "put a full stop on this era."
Smithy gives his post-mortem on Blackcaps heavy loss in 2nd Test to England | Sport Nation
Within that mix is retiring seamer Tim Southee, who has struggled to make an impression through the series to date, with just just four total wickets to his name heading into what would be his final Test match for New Zealand.
But amid those demands for the axe to swing and sentiment to be cast aside, Sport Nation's Scotty Stevenson insists the 106-Test veteran has earned the right to go out on his own shield with a swansong in Hamilton.
"It's amazing to me how people can look at a servant like Tim Southee and say 'get rid of him'," Stevenson said on Sport Nation's Scotty & Izzy.
"There might not be a place for sentiment when it comes to selecting a winning Test team. But this guy doesn't deserve to be stabbed in the back and the chest, and everywhere else for that matter, at this point in his career.
"Tim Southee deserves to go out on his terms. He is one of those players and very few get to. I'm not going to jump on the pile on here."
Southee is second to only the legendary Sir Richard Hadlee on the list of New Zealand's all-time Test wicket-takers (389). A final match at his home ground of Seddon Park shapes a a fitting way to farewell one of the country's greatest cricketers.
"I realise that he is not taking the wickets he should. I realise that professional sport is not a place for the sentimental as a general rule. But I'm suggesting to you, who are you putting in that Test team?" Stevenson continued.
Where to now for Blackcaps after record Test loss to England at Basin Reserve? | Sport Nation
"If you're binning Southee now, with one Test to go in his career, who are you putting in there? A lot of people don't want to see Southee get a send off here.
"A lot of people think he shouldn't be in the team, shouldn't have been in the team for the last season. Fair enough. If you base it just on statistics, that's fine.
"He was also up until five weeks ago, the captain of the Test team. So let's not forget that."
Co-host Israel Dagg has a candidate in Jacob Duffy, who has impressed in his limited chances in whites for New Zealand.
"Southee has been an absolute wonder to watch in that Blackcaps squad," Dagg noted.
"We've seen very little from Jacob Duffy. But from what I've seen, I've been really impressed and I think he can add to that group and add a little bit more than what Timmy has done in the last couple of months.
"For that sole reason, he gets the nod for me."
But both agree the most pressing problem to be addressed by the NZ selectors is the batting line-up, which has failed to put any pressure on the England attack over the past two Tests, as some of the incumbents - most notably Devon Conway - have endured a miserable run.
Stevenson says Stead needs to follow in counterpart Brendon McCullum's footsteps and be prepared to take some risks, pointing to England rookie Jacob Bethell as a prime example of what can be unearthed with some brave decisionmaking.
"We do have young talent. But it's not about whether we have the talent coming through, it's whether we have the bravery to select them.
"Jacob Bethell was out of the box in terms of the McCullum selection strategies here. He had an average of 22 in first class cricket. He'd never scored a ton. And McCullum says, 'right, you're in for a Test match'."
Sport Nation has live ball-by-ball commentary of the final Test match between the Blackcaps and England - available on all NZ frequencies and the new Sport Nation app - available on App Store and Google Play.
