In a previous article we talked about the best performances of Trent Boult so how could we leave his longtime bowling partner behind. Tim Southee is as big of a legend as Trent Boult for New Zealand cricket and he has been their premier fast bowler and he has been playing for longer than Trent Boult and he has still a few years left in him but he has had lots of incredible performance that it will tough to choose 5 and whenever that happens it means that the player is a true legend and has done well consistently. We will look at his records below.
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Tim Southee has been playing international cricket since 2008 and is going strong till now which means 14 years at the top of cricket and fir a fast bowler that is amazing. He has played 88 Test Matches and gas taken 347 test Wickets till now at an average of 28.99 and he has got 14 Five wicket hauls and 1 time he has taken 10 wickets in a test match. He has also played 148 ODIs and haa taken 199 ODI Wickets and will get his 200th soon. He has taken these wickets at an average of 33.98 with 3 Five wicket hauls. He has also played 95 T20IS and taken 114 wickets in this format. So a total of more than 650 international wickets for New Zealand which is staggering. Let’s look at his Top 5 Best Performances.
7/64 vs India (2012)
This performance came 4 years after his debut in test cricket and it came against India in their hearts although New Zealand lost this match his performance deserves to be on this list. Taking 7 wickets in a test innings is no mean feat and in the first batting innings for India he was the only Bowler who looked like taking wickets and he bowled for 24 overs and gave away 64 runs and got 7 wickets in the process. This was one of the best overseas fast bowling performances in India. Tim Southee had established himself as the leader of the pack.
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5/62 and 3/58 vs Sri Lanka (2012)
Just like 2013 was kind to Trent Boult, the year 2012 was very good for Tim Southee and this was his first winning contribution where he has taken more than 5 wickets in a test match so it has to be on this list. This was a test match against Sri Lanka and he just kept picking Wickets throughout the test match and in the first batting innings for Sri Lanka he got 5 Wickets for 62 runs in 22 overs of great fast bowling and Sri Lanka were bowled out for 244. Then in the all important 4th innings he again got crucial wickets for New Zealand and he got 3 Wickets for 58 Runs in 20 overs and New Zealand won this match by 167 runs.
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4/58 and 6/50 vs England (2013)
Getting a 10 wicket haul in a test match at Lord’s by an overseas fast Bowler is a special achievement and it deserves to be in this list and even though New Zealand lost this match Tim Southee was the shining light for New Zealand. In the first innings of England he took 4 important Wickets of the English batting line-up and gave away 58 runs in 28.2 overs and everyone there was very impressed with him but he saved the best for the second innings. In the Third innings of the test match he got even better as he got 6 Wickets in the Innings and he gave away 50 runs in 19 overs thus getting his name on the Lord’s honors board as well. Tim Southee was having a dream year.
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5/33 vs Pakistan (2011)
This was his first 5 wicket haul In ODI cricket and it came in a winning cause as well when he destroyed Pakistan in this match. Pakistan were batting first and he just started attacking from ball 1 and in 9.3 overs he got 5 Wickets for just 43 runs and he never allowed the Pakistan batters to get in any sort of rhythm and as a result Pakistan got out for 124 and New Zealand won the match by 9 wickets. Tim Southee had established himself as a good ODI bowler after this match.
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7/33 vs England (2015)
This is one of the greatest fast bowling spells in the history of ODI cricket and it came in the 2015 World Cup against England. Tim Southee was in his peak form and that day no England batter had any answers to his swing and seam. To pick 7 wickets in an ODI match bowling 9 overs is mind boggling. He was having fun that day and just tore apart the English batting and got 7 wickets for just 33 runs and New Zealand won that match by 8 wickets and Tim Southee became a legend that day.
Also Read: Top 5 Best Performances of Trent Boult
