New Zealand pacer Tim Southee believes that his team deserves to play more Test cricket has been a consistent side over the years in the longest format of the game, and especially after winning the inaugural World Test Championship against India in England last week.
While the other top teams like India, Australia, and England played four and five matches in a Test series, New Zealand mostly played two or three matches in a Test series during the same duration and Southee said the Kiwis would like to play more three-match series in the coming days.
His comments came after New Zealand is scheduled for another two-match Test series against India as his national team played only four three-match series out of the 18 bilateral Test series in the last five years. They recently won the ICC World Test Championship title, beating India in the finals.
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As reported by ESPNcricinfo, Southee stated: “I guess one of our strengths as a side is that we sort of just concentrate on what's put in front of us, and what we try and achieve as a group, (but) I guess playing more Test cricket as a whole would be nice.”
He added, “We don't play that many three-match series, so I guess just being able to play more Test matches and hopefully more three-match series rather than two-match series. But yeah, I think it's tough with future tours (program) already being in place up to now, but just being able to perform at this level for a number of years and being a consistent side, I guess we have that right to play more Test cricket.”
As Test cricket is the pinnacle of the game, the 32-year-old pacer said a three-Test series is more challenging and provides more opportunities to test a player to test himself.
He further explained, “As players, Test cricket is the pinnacle of the game, and you always want to play more. It's something that we haven't played a lot of, three-match-series, so to be able to test yourself over three matches rather than just two matches. It's obviously a lot more taxing, it's a tougher battle to get yourself up and go again over three matches, but that's the beauty of it, and it's part and parcel of it. It's tough cricket, and you want to play as much as you possibly can.”
Southee also insisted that he would like to extend his career as much as he can while saying he is taking inspiration from his teammate Ross Taylor and England pacer James Anderson.
The fast bowler further noted, “I feel as fit as I ever have, so I'd love to play this game for as long as I possibly can. Seeing guys like James Anderson, at 38, still being able to do what he's doing gives everyone hope, Ross Taylor at 37 still being able to perform at this level.”
He signed off by saying, “I think it comes down to the individual standards that you set yourself, and you're able to hold those high standards that it takes to play at this level, then I guess age is only a number. I hope there's a lot of life left in me.”
(With PTI Inputs)
