Kolkata: Sir Richard Hadlee, one of the alltime great allrounders and the first bowler to cross the 400-wicket barrier, backed his New Zealand compatriot Tim Southee to take a shot at his record of 431 Test wickets. Southee, the senior pro of Kiwi pace attack, was the toast of his country’s cricketing circles on Thursday when he was announced as the winner of the prestigeous Sir Richard Hadlee Medal for his overall performance in the 2021 season.
It was a pleasant surprise for Southee, now camping in Mumbai as part of the Kolkata Knight Riders franchise in the ongoing IPL 2022, to log in for a zoom chat at the early hours of India time to be congratulated by one of his childhood idols for an award in the latter’s name. Now 33, Southee is the highest wicket-taker in Tests among active New Zealand cricketers with 338 wickets - 24 wickets shy of Daniel Vettori’s haul of 362.
Congratulating Southee for playing a crucial part in what had been a hugely rewarding year for New Zealand cricket (they won the World Test Championship and ended as surprise runners-up in the last T20 World Cup in the UAE), Sir Richard said during a virtual interaction with the media: ‘‘Over the last three to four years, Tim has been at the peak of his craft. He just keeps running in and makes his job look so simple - it shows that he is in complete control of his body and mind. Tim now has 400 Test wickets in sight and should he get to that magic figure of 431, I can say its time for me to let it go.
‘‘If you’re able to do that then I’d be very, very satisfied and pleased it would be you to do it. There you go, there’s a wee bit of motivation for you,” he said.
Sir Richard, incidentally, retired as the highest wicket-taker in Tests in 1990 - a record which was overhauled by India’s Kapil Dev in 1994. The barrier of 400 Test wickets was then considered insurmountable till the likes of Muttiah Muralitharan, Shane Warne, Anil Kumble and James Anderson raised the bar to another level.
‘‘New Zealand cricket is on a real high and the duo of Tim and Trent (Boult) had been the most successful pace bowling combination in our cricket, like Broad and Anderson for England. Now, they have got able support in Wags (Neil Wager) and (Kyle) Jamieson,’’ Sir Richard observed.
New Zealand cricket is on a real high and the duo of Tim and Trent (Boult) had been the most successful pace bowling combination in our cricket, like Broad and Anderson for England. Now, they have got able support in Wags (Neil Wager) and (Kyle) Jamieson
Playing down the prospects of reaching the 400-wicket mark, Southee said that his objective was to keep trying to improve on his craft. ‘‘When you play for a number of the years, then such milestones come along the way but it’s still a long way off. If I can carry on with the process, then the results will automatically take care of itself.
Asked how he manages his workload of playing in all three formats as well as some franchise cricket, the senior pro said it was a matter of training smart and knowing one’s body. ‘‘The first six months of Covid-19, when I didn’t bowl a single ball - it was tough to come out of it. As you grow older, it’s easier on the body if you keep on playing rather than stop and start.
‘‘After the 2019 ICC World Cup, I haven’t played much of ODI cricket and it had been mainly Tests and T20s. After the IPL, three Tests are coming up in England - a wonderful place to play Test cricket and I am looking forward to it,’’ he said.
In the IPL 2022 so far, his team Kolkata Knight Riders have made a decent start with three wins in five games and Southee was happy to play his part in a few of the wins before Pat Cummins replaced as the overseas pace bowler. ‘‘It’s an amazing tournament to be a part of. It’s a long tournament and hopefully, I will get some more game-time,’’ he added.
