Veteran New Zealand seamer Tim Southee received a guard of honor from the England cricket team when he walked out to bat in his farewell Test at the Seddon Park, Hamilton on Saturday (December 14).

Last month, Southee had announced that he will retire from Test cricket after his team's ongoing World Test Championship (WTC) campaign.

Since the Kiwis were knocked out of the WTC final race after losing to England in the first two Tests, the third match marked Southee’s final appearance in the longest format.

The crowd cheered thunderously and gave a standing ovation to Southee when he entered the ground after the fall of eighth wicket. The Ben Stokes-led English side also showed their respect to the retiring pacer by giving him a guard of honour.

Here’s the video:

Tim Southee, 36, played a handy cameo of 23 off 10 balls (1 boundary and 3 sixes) in his farewell Test. He was the last man to be dismissed on Day 1 of the Hamilton Test as the hosts went to the stumps with 315/9 on the board.

Southee has taken 389 wickets from 106 Tests at an average of 30.21, which includes 15 five-wicket hauls. He will end his career as the second highest Test wicket-taker for the Black Caps behind Sir Richard Hadlee’s tally of 431.

Southee is the all-time leading wicket-taker for New Zealand across formats with 774 scalps to his name.