New Zealand captain Tim Southee is unsure if he will play Tests on India tour or even against Afghanistan and Sri Lanka later this year while being at the helm. He understands that the team combination will change in Asia with spin playing an important role but insisted that there is a lot of time for that while speaking in the aftermath of 2-0 series loss to Australia at home.
The Kiwis had reduced the visitors to 34/4 defending 278 runs in the fourth innings. But on the fourth day, Australia recovered well with Mitchell Marsh, Alex Carey and Pat Cummins taking them over the line in a thrilling encounter with three wickets in hand. With Indian Premier League (IPL) and T20 World Cup coming up, New Zealand aren’t scheduled to play any Tests until they embark on Asian tour to play against Afghanistan, Sri Lanka and India later this year.
“We’ll see. Obviously you go to Asia, the make-up of the side changes slightly with spin becoming the main threat in that part of the world. But we’ll see when we get there. We’ll deal with this tonight and look to move forward to what’s to come,” Southee said. However, in the most recent Tests in Bangladesh last year, Southee had led New Zealand and played as one of the two seamers in the playing XI.
Meanwhile, New Zealand’s poor record against Australia at home continued even in this series. They are yet to beat the Aussies at home since 1993 when they last won in Auckland by five wickets. Addressing to this record, Southee felt that to beat a team like Australia, they will have to be at their best on all days of Test match while conceding that the hosts didn’t play their best cricket either.
“I’m not too sure. They’re a tough side to beat, not only in Australia, but when they travel as well. I think when you play the best you’ve got to be at your best for those periods, that little bit longer. We had moments through both Test matches where we could have been a little bit better at times and then things could have been slightly different. But it was just another great Test and there’s been plenty of those over the last few years,” the Kiwi skipper added.