Southee\u2019s 391 wickets second only to Richard Hadlee in New Zealand Test cricket history books
\n HAMILTON
\nTim Southee said he would never forget his \u201cincredible journey\u201d after the New Zealand great confirmed Tuesday he had retired fully from international cricket.
\nSouthee said he would \u201cfade out\u201d a happy man after taking two wickets in his 107th and final Test, a 423-run drubbing of England in Hamilton.
\nThe 36-year-old swing bowler then revealed he would also play no more limited-overs matches for his country, ending a record-breaking 17 years across all three formats.
\n\u201cIt\u2019s time for these young guys,\u201d Southee said.
\n\u201cWe\u2019ve seen a number of them come through in the last couple of years and I\u2019m excited to sit back and watch them continue to take this team forward.
\n\u201cI\u2019ve lived it for so long. So yeah, I\u2019ll be done.\u201d
\nSouthee\u2019s 391 wickets is second only to Richard Hadlee in the New Zealand Test cricket history books.
\nBut Southee stands alone for total New Zealand international wickets, with 776 since his debut in 2008.
\nHe is the only player globally to take more than 300 wickets in Tests, 200 in one-day internationals (221) and 100 in Twenty20 internationals (164), with the T20 figure the most by any player.
\nSouthee said he would pursue playing opportunities in professional T20 leagues but had decided a Test at his home ground of Seddon Park was the best way to sign off for New Zealand.
\n\u201cTest cricket\u2019s the pinnacle for me and it\u2019s pretty special to win by 400-odd runs against a brilliant opposition,\u201d he said.
\n\u201cIt\u2019s a nice way to fade out after what\u2019s been an incredible journey.
\n\u201cEvery opportunity to play for New Zealand has been a special moment. It\u2019s been a great ride and I\u2019ve got 17 years of memories which I\u2019ll take with me.\u201d
\nSouthee said he would remember with particular fondness a \u201cgolden period\u201d for New Zealand in which he shared the new ball with Trent Boult, supported by aggressive first-change exponent Neil Wagner.
\nThe three seamers were a lethal combined force for a decade, culminating in winning the World Test Championship final against India at Lord\u2019s in 2021.
\n\u201cTo be a part of that was pretty special,\u201d Southee said.
\n\u201cAnd to play alongside those two and form a pretty good friendship which will go long beyond the game as well, is, I guess, the most satisfying part of all.\u201d
\nSouthee said he won\u2019t though miss the draining schedule of international cricket.
\n\u201cI\u2019ll certainly enjoy a Christmas at home with the family,\u201d he said.
\n\u201cThey\u2019ve been few and far between over the last how many years.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Southee\u2019s 391 wickets second only to Richard Hadlee in New Zealand Test cricket history books HAMILTON Tim Southee said he would never forget his \u201cincredible journey\u201d after the New Zealand great confirmed Tuesday he had retired fully from international cricket. Southee said he would \u201cfade out\u201d a happy man after taking two wickets in his […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":450062,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-450036","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-sports"],"yoast_head":"\n