NEWS
Follow UsTim Southee's role will be of utmost importance for New Zealand when they take on England in the two-Test series from June 2, followed by the World Test Championship (WTC) final against India from June 18. The experienced pacer, who has more than 500 international wickets to his name says Test cricket is his most treasured format as it gets the blood boiling.
"I love Test cricket. For me, it's my most treasured format. I love all three, but Test cricket is something that really gets the blood boiling. Being the first [World Test Championship final] it will be pretty special as well. India in England is unusual on its own, but it's great to test yourself against one of the best sides and they have been for a long period of time. It should be a great match,” Southee said in an interview with stuff.co.nz.
The 32-year-old reckons that age is just a number and as long as you are able to perform at the highest level, there's no need to worry. He quoted James Anderson's example, who he reckons has been bowling as well as ever at the age of 38.
"As long as you’re still able to perform and reach those high standards it takes to represent your country then I think age is only a number. You look at the likes of James Anderson who is 38. He’s still arguably bowling as well as he ever has. Think cricketers in general look after themselves a lot better. We're a lot fitter as a group; we train a lot on the strength and conditioning side of things. I think you’ll see players play for longer," the Kiwi quick added.
Southee (302) recently became the third New Zealand bowler after Richard Hadlee (431) and Daniel Vettori (361) to pick up 300 wickets in Tests.