Tim Southee

Tim Southee Biography

Tim Southee is an international New Zealand cricketer, born in Northland on 11th December 1988. He plays all forms of the game and is primarily a right-arm fast-medium bowler, whose hard-hitting ability lower down the order has also not been unnoticed.

The current vice-captain of the New Zealand team, Southee entered the international arena at the age of 19, making him one of New Zealand's youngest cricketers.

Background

While at school, Southee excelled at both cricket and rugby. Southee was 17 years old when he debuted in the 2006 ICC Under-19 World Cup against Bangladesh in Colombo, Sri Lanka. His Under-19 career included 13 one-day matches, 10 of those coming in the ICC Under-19 World Cups.

He made his first class debut for Northern Districts on 19 February, 2007 at the age of 18.

Debut

On 30th of January 2008, Southee was named in the New Zealand squad for two Twenty20 international games against England. In the first game, he ended up with figures of 1/38. In the second match, Southee was New Zealand's best bowler with figures of 2/22 from four overs.

At the end of the 2007-08 season, Southee became the country's most promising cricketers and in April he was awarded one of New Zealand Cricket's central contracts.

He was selected for his first full international tour, to England, Ireland and Scotland from May to July 2008. At this tour, he played a single Test at Lord's and seven one-day internationals.

Rise to glory

Southee and Trent Boult formed a devastating new-ball partnership for the Kiwis, particularly under the captaincy of Brendon McCullum. The ability to swing the ball both ways coupled with McCullum’s intent to ensure his premier fast bowlers could always take wickets, ensured that Southee was a lethal opposition especially when there was a little bit of help for the seamers.

Undoubtedly, Southee’s highest point came when he took seven wickets to shoot England out for 123 in the 2015 World Cup group stage match, enabling New Zealand to chase a target down in 12.2 overs.

Low points

Southee found himself bowling two Super Overs in the 2012 ICC World T20 in Sri Lanka, against the hosts and the eventual champions, West Indies. However, things went pear-shaped for him as New Zealand ended up losing both those matches, to ensure they were eliminated from the tournament.

Club career

He has been a part of Northern Districts since the beginning of his career. In 2011, he played for the Chennai Super Kings in the IPL. In the same year, he also played in English T20 competition for Essex. Southee has also featured in T20 cricket for Mumbai Indians, Rajasthan Royals and Middlesex.

Captaincy

In the 2017-18 home season, Southee took over the reins of captaincy for the T20I series against West Indies, as Kane Williamson decided to take a rest with other important tours on the horizon.

Records

In Tests, his highest score is a hard-hitting 77 against England at Napier in 2008. His 7-64 against Indian at Bengaluru in 2012 remains his best Test figures yet, but even that wasn’t enough to win New Zealand that particular game. Southee’s magnum opus in ODIs came at the WestPac Stadium in Wellington in the 2015 World Cup against England, as his spell of 7-33 shot the English out for a measly total that New Zealand powered themselves to.