Tim Southee, the current Test captain of New Zealand, made history on Thursday (March 9) when he surpassed Daniel Vettori, a former captain and top spinner, to become the Black Caps’ all-time leading wicket-taker. The right-arm bowler, 34, who made his debut in 2008, has taken 708 wickets from 354 games.
Tim Southee, the captain of the New Zealand Test team, made history on Thursday (March 9) by surpassing all other Black Caps players in terms of wickets taken. When star batsman Kane Williamson resigned from the position as Test captain last year, the 34-year-old pacer took over, breaking the previous record held by Daniel Vettori, a top spinner and former skipper. The former U-19 sensation, Southee, now has 708 wickets to his name from 354 outings after scoring a five-wicket haul against Sri Lanka in the first innings of the ongoing first Test in Christchurch. He passed Vettori to become the all-time best wicket-taker (705 wickets from 442 games).
Most wickets for New Zealand in international cricket
| POSITION | PLAYER | MATCHES | WICKETS | BEST |
| 1. | Tim Southee | 354* | 708 | 7/33 |
| 2. | Daniel Vettori | 437 | 705 | 7/87 |
| 3. | Sir Richard Hadlee | 201 | 589 | 9/52 |
| 4. | Trent Boult | 232 | 578 | 7/34 |
| 5. | Chris Cairns | 278 | 419 | 7/27
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On February 5, 2008, Southee played in his first T20 international match for New Zealand against England in Auckland. That same year, he made his ODI and Test debuts, and ever since, he has been a consistent contributor to the New Zealand squad. The right-arm medium bowler has taken 364, 210, and 134 wickets in the 93 Tests, 154 ODIs, and 107 T20Is that he has participated in so far. Southee has also played a significant role in his career with the bat. He has 1950 Test runs to his belt as well as 720 and 261 runs in ODIs and T20Is, respectively.
Top 5 wicket-takers in T20Is
| POSITION | PLAYER | COUNTRY | MATCHES | WICKETS | BEST FIGURES |
| 1. | Tim Southee | New Zealand | 107 | 134 | 5/18 |
| 2. | Shakib Al Hasan | Bangladesh | 110 | 129 | 5/20 |
| 3. | Rashid Khan | Afghanistan | 77 | 126 | 5/3 |
| 4. | Ish Sodhi | New Zealand | 91 | 114 | 4/28 |
| 5. | Lasith Malinga | Sri Lanka | 84 | 107 | 5/6 |
Tim Southee has the record for capturing the most wickets in T20Is, in addition to topping the Black Caps in wicket-taking in international cricket. No one has yet surpassed his total of 134 wickets in the shortest format.
In the first Test of the two-match series between Sri Lanka and New Zealand, Sri Lanka managed to score 355 runs in the first innings after being asked to bat first. In his 26.4-over performance, Southee dismissed five batters for the hosts, leading to 64 runs. The Matt Henry, who struck out four batters for 80 runs, provided the Kiwi captain with strong support.
