Tim Southee embraces T20 scoring explosion

By Kris Shannon

When Tim Southee played his first T20 World Cup, New Zealand averaged 144 in their four completed matches.

In this year’s Indian Premier League, the highest team total is 287.

Different stakes, pitches and conditions, of course, but Southee is well aware of just how different the shortest form has become during his time in the Black Caps.

Southee was this week selected for a seventh T20 World Cup, beginning for his side with a clash against Afghanistan in Guyana on June 8 (NZT).

Along with Kane Williamson (sixth) and Trent Boult (fifth), the tournament could be a last chance for the 35-year-old to overcome a series of near-misses and win a World Cup for his country.

But to finally achieve a dream that dates back to 2010, when Southee’s tournament journey started in the same country where it could end, the bowler will have to hope his time at the crease doesn’t turn into a nightmare.

Scoring rates have exploded in this year’s IPL, a competition that often acts as a harbinger for international cricket. In addition to Sunrisers Hyderabad’s 287-3 last month, on seven other occasions teams have racked up totals exceeding 250.

Pitches in the West Indies will play slower than the flat tracks being served up to entertain the masses in India. But small boundaries — along with the presence of the world’s best batters — means Southee and his cohort will need to be near their best if the Black Caps wish to make a fourth straight semifinal at the event.

Having earned his T20 debut three years after its international introduction in 2005, the veteran quick has embraced the challenge of keeping up with the pace.

“It’s forever changing, and we’re even seeing in the last few weeks in India that it’s changing again,” Southee said. “You have to change as a bowler especially. You have to move with the times, and if you don’t you get left behind.

“As a spectacle, it’s exciting. As a bowler, I’d like it to come back in our favour a little bit more. But I hope that people are enjoying watching cricket.”

Southee expected — and hoped — wickets in the Caribbean would offer less thrills for fans but more assistance for bowlers, especially later in the tournament. Ensuring the Black Caps are still alive to enjoy those conditions will be the remit of a group with abundant experience in navigating the gauntlet of the format.

Three bowlers have taken 100 T20 wickets for New Zealand — Southee (157), Ish Sodhi (136) and Mitchell Santner (111). Trent Boult (74) is fourth on the all-time list and Lockie Ferguson (54) lies seventh. Each of the quintet will add to that number next month.

While Matt Henry will be featuring in his first T20 World Cup, the seamer is no stranger to the New Zealand setup, and for Southee such familiarity has bred nothing but kinship.

“As bowlers and mates, we talk a lot about the game,” he said. “If you look at the whole bowling unit — Lockie, Mitch, Ish, myself and Trent — we’ve played a lot of Twenty20 cricket together. It’s always good to know those guys and know what they’re capable of.

“I love bowling with Trent and have done over the years so it’s great to see him back representing New Zealand. He’s had guest appearances over the last wee while so I’m sure he’ll be fizzed to be playing at another World Cup.

“It’s a great moment to represent New Zealand in another World Cup with those guys who have been part of the journey for a long time.”

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