Follow UsNew Zealand skipper Tim Southee didn’t rule out the possibility of bringing Neil Wagner out of retirement for the second Test against Australia in Christchurch after Will O'Rourke (hamstring) could bowl only 7.5 overs in the third innings of the opening Test in Wellington.
O'Rourke walked off the field on day three after feeling tightness in his left hamstring and didn’t return back to bowl. The 22-year-old, however, did bat in the fourth innings but wasn’t required to sprint. Wagner announced his retirement ahead of the first Test after he was informed that New Zealand won’t be needing his services in this series.
Southee, Matt Henry and O'Rourke were always going to be picked ahead of him and on top of that, the Black Caps went with Scott Kuggeleijn as their fourth seamer. O'Rourke's recovery will be monitored in the next 24 hours, while Kuggeleijn struggled big time in the first Test, which New Zealand lost by 172 runs on Tuesday (March 3).
"We haven't had a lot of discussions as yet. We'll see how Will scrubs up. The physio hasn't sort of put a timeframe on it or how bad it is. We'll just wait and see how Will goes over the next couple of days. I'm sure there'll be an update in the next 24 hours,” said Southee.
“We obviously have to go on and make a decision on who comes in and what role we sort of see that playing out in Christchurch. (Wagner's) had a great reception here over the last week where he got a couple of moments on the field and obviously he's been a fan favorite for a long time."
The Black Caps made a blunder of playing an extra seamer instead of going with a specialist spinner. 17 wickets in the first Test fell to spin, with the slower bowlers averaging an astonishing 11.1 as compared to the pacers’ average of 31.3. Southee, however, defended Kuggeleijn who bowled 23 overs for 93 runs and proved to be the most expensive specialist pacer across both sides.
"He bowled well at times. It was tough out there with that wind, the job he did, picked up a couple of wickets in the first innings which were crucial. It's obviously a very small sample size in the two matches he's played and there's a bit of time, a year between Test matches as well. It's not easy to come in and make an impact straight away."
New Zealand, however, lost the Test in the first innings. They Australia at 176/6 but that’s when Cameron Green hammered an unbeaten 174 and took his team to 383. "I think we probably could have tried to get Green out on that second morning," said Southee who himself had a disappointing Test.
"I think the way he played that night before, we thought he was probably going to come out and play some shots. But we probably could look to get him out and on that second morning and make things slightly easier than what we did."