Neil Wagner bows out with heroic performance in Plunket Shield triumph

Black Caps great Neil Wagner will bow out of New Zealand cricket a champion after his heroics with the ball helped Northern Districts win their first Plunket Shield title in 13 years.

Wagner claimed a second-innings five-wicket haul as Northern beat the Otago Volts by 134-runs in their final round clash in Dunedin this afternoon.

In total, the left-arm seamer claimed eight wickets in the four-day match along with knocks of 25 and 27 with the bat. His five-wicket bag was the 37th of his first-class career.

Wagner received a guard of honour as he left the field before his teammates began celebrating their first title since the 2011/12 season.

Northern Districts captain Jeet Raval described Wagner as “lionhearted”.

“He was charging in over after over and it’s his first Plunket Shield title,” says Raval. “It’s a nice way for him to bow out.”

It was indeed a fitting end to the 39-year-old’s career, as his last domestic match in New Zealand was the same fixture as his first - when he played for Otago against ND at University Oval in 2008.

Wagner didn’t get the send-off he deserved from the international arena. After taking 260 test wickets to land fifth on New Zealand’s all-time list, his release from the squad before last summer’s home series against Australia led him to announce an earlier-than-planned Black Caps retirement.

It appeared that Wagner had already signed off his career in New Zealand after the Northern Brave’s defeat in the Super Smash playoffs in February, but he made a stunning return to help Northern beat the Wellington Firebirds in the penultimate round last week, which saw them jump top of the standings.

Wagner confirmed to Newstalk ZB prior to the match that this would indeed be his last on New Zealand soil.

But he won’t be hanging up the boots just yet, signing to play for Durham for the second half of the 2025 county season in England.

“I’ve smashed my body up a lot in the role I do,” says Wagner.

“It’s time for the younger guys to take the lead. I’m grateful to have played so many games in New Zealand, but the young guys need to get time in middle.”

His first game for Durham will be on June 22 against Sussex and he will be available until the end of the campaign in September.

In total, Wagner has claimed 849 first-class wickets in more than 200 first-class appearances.

He was also part of the Black Caps side who won the inaugural World Test Championship.

This article was first published on nzherald.co.nz and is republished here with permission