With his 3-wicket haul in the 3rd ODI against Pakistan in Karachi, veteran seamer Tim Southee went past former skipper and teammate Daniel Vettori to become New Zealand’s all-time leading wicket-taker in international cricket.
Southee, who made his international debut back in 2008 in all the three formats, now has accumulated 697 wickets in international cricket, and is on the verge of becoming the first Kiwi bowler to take 700 wickets, a feat he is very much likely to attain in the upcoming white-ball matches in India.
Vettori had 696 wickets in his bucket. Following them are Sir Richard Hadlee with 589 wickets and Trent Boult with 578 wickets.
Southee’s 697 wickets have come in 427 innings across formats at 29.38 runs apiece. Southee, along with Boult, have been crucial in New Zealand’s success from the Brendon McCullum era. Southee and Boult were part of the New Zealand sides that reached the final of the 2019 ODI WC and 2021 T20 WC, semi-finals of the 2016 T20 WC and 2022 T20 WC, but their major multi-tournament victory came in Test cricket – defeating India in the World Test Championship final in 2021.
In 90 Tests, Southee has 353 wickets at an average of 29 with the best bowling figures of 7/64. He also has 210 wickets in 154 ODIs and 134 T20I wickets in 107 matches.
Overall, Tim Southee is the 15th-highest wicket-taker in men’s international cricket.
New Zealand win the ODI series in Pakistan for the first time
In Karachi, where New Zealand registered a historic ODI series win in Pakistan, Southee played a key role, taking 3/56 in 10 overs, dismissing the likes of Agha Salman (45), Mohammed Nawaz (8) and Usama Mir (6), and helping New Zealand restrict Pakistan to 280.
Devon Conway and Kane Williamson hit fifties before New Zealand lost their way. However, Glenn Phillips stood up once again to smash 63 runs off 42 balls, helping his side across the finish line with 2 wickets in hand.
Next, New Zealand will tour India for 3 ODIs and 3 T20Is.
