New Zealand’s veteran fast bowler Tim Southee, 33, has revealed he loves playing all three formats of the game and he is hopeful of continuing to play across the three forms for a bit longer. Southee has been a consistent performer for the Kiwis over the years and he is well known to swing the ball in the PowerPlay overs.
But, it is evident that playing all three formats isn’t easy in the modern era given the amount of cricket all over the year, especially if you are a fast bowler.
However, Southee has always maintained a good level of fitness and he still has the hunger to keep going. Recently, Martin Guptill was released from the New Zealand central contract.
Southee said ahead of the third ODI against India in Christchurch: “I haven’t looked too far ahead, to be honest. There’s enough cricket to come in the coming months to worry about before having to look too far ahead, but it’s something all players are trying to stay with and think about in the moving landscape of the game.”
Southee continued: “You’re contracted to New Zealand Cricket at the moment and I’ve been back to the IPL (Indian Premier League) this year and we’ll see what happens over the coming years, but it’s definitely changing the landscape of cricket to what it was two-three years ago.”
Meanwhile, Southee made his International debut back in 2008 and since then he has performed consistently for the team.
Southee added, “The body feels pretty good at the moment, so as long as you can still handle juggling all three and still being able to perform at the level you need to at this level. I love playing all three formats, so hopefully can do that for a wee while longer.”
The veteran fast bowler added that every training session gives a player an opportunity to become a better cricketer.
“You have to keep looking at ways to get better. Having played for a while, you have experience on your side – good experience, but also bad experiences, so just trying to stay with the times and trying to stay a step ahead.”
Southee concluded by saying: “Always looking at improving your game. Each time you turn up to training is an opportunity to walk away a better cricketer.”
The third ODI between India and New Zealand will be played on Wednesday.
