"It all makes sense now" - Ross Taylor says Neil Wagner was "forced" to retire before 1st Test vs Australia
Ross Taylor believes someone in the New Zealand set-up "forced" Neil Wagner to retire before the two-Test series against Australia. Taylor also feels that Wagner's viral middle-finger to someone in the Kiwi huddle and his shush gesture after taking a wicket in the previous series against South Africa were also connected.
Wagner announced his retirement in a press conference before the first Test after head coach Gary Stead told him he wasn't part of the plans for the rubber. But the Blackcaps choosing rookie Will O’Rourke and Scott Kuggeleijn (despite his recent controversial background) ahead of him fanned controversy among supporters.
"It all makes sense a little bit now," Taylor told ESPN. "There's no sugar coating it - I think it's a forced retirement. You listen to the Wagner press conference, he was retiring but it was after the last Test match. So he did make himself available. I think anytime... it's not only about his experience and how he goes about it [but also about] the opposition. Cummins talked about the plans they had for him too."
Wagner made an appearance as a fielding substitute in the first Test, amid loud cheers, and Tim Southee even hinted that he might play in the second game to replace O’Rourke who got injured. But Stead denied that later, saying the team had already given the pacer his farewell, and his team chose Ben Sears instead.
"And to see that he isn't selected, they have gone with Sears. I do like him, you do need to plan for the future," Taylor said. "But a one-off match against Australia in a much-win situation, I wouldn't be looking much further than Neil Wagner. And I am sure the Australian batters are sleeping easy that he's not on the other side."
Listening to this, Aaron Finch, who was also on the panel, joked that it was "about time" there was some unrest in the Kiwi camp after years of controversies in Australia.
"Neil Wagner would have intimidated Josh Hazlewood" - Aaron Finch
New Zealand lost the first Test by 172 runs. A big difference-maker was the 116-run partnership between Cameron Green and Josh Hazlewood for the final wicket in the first innings. Both Taylor and Finch said that it wouldn't have gone so long had Wagner, who has 24 wickets at 23.04 against Australia, been in the team.
"I couldn't believe that Neil Wagner wasn't in the 11," Finch said in the video. "I just genuinely thought that he must have been out through a niggle. The success he has had against Australia, particularly Steve Smith, over a period of time... you can guarentee that that last wicket partnership wouldn't have happened if Wagner was there because he'd have intimidated Josh Hazlewood, at least.
"He might have stopped Cameron Green from scoring as well. I thought that was a really intersting decision."
The second Test between New Zealand and Australia will begin on March 8 in Christchurch.