For the first two Test matches over in the UAE, Tim Southee had his feet up in the stands with a good book or perhaps a cup of tea as the brains trust of the Blackcaps decided he was the odd man out in a seam attack that needed to be shrunk to accommodate an extra spinner for the conditions.

Nothing wrong with that at all, it’s the common sense approach to playing in different parts of the world. Horses for courses, as they say. And it’s a pleasant fact at the moment that the Blackcaps have a fair bit of depth in the bowling ranks at the moment which allows them to rotate as necessary – there was definitely a time when the thought of dropping Tim Southee was unthinkable.

It was the same formula as when the Blackcaps toured India in their previous away series… way back in September 2016. Southee was injured for that one but with two spinners always gonna get a run all that did was save having to make the decision. But then they made that decision anyway when South Africa came to town later on in the summer and despite Southee taking mad wickets against Pakistan and Bangladesh it was decided that on a dry deck in Dunedin they’d go with the extra spinner. Shot, Jeets. Guts, Timmy. It was the first Test Southee had missed for non-injury related reasons since 2012.

I guess that really lays it all on the table, that last stat. For the best part of five years Tim Southee was a dead certainty in any Blackcaps Test side but the rise of Neil Wagner and the continued dominance of Trent Boult have dropped him down the list and the third seamer is the vulnerable one. So it was when the Cappies went to the UAE last month. It is also worth pointing out that Tim Southee took five wickets at an average of 51.4 in the three Test series in the UAE of 2014, so leaving him out there wasn’t controversial. Especially not when the precedent had already been set: Colin De Grandhomme is competing with other all-rounders for his spot, not with the bowlers, and Trent Boult and Neil Wagner are understandably ahead of Southee in the ranks.

Except that Wagnuts wasn’t able to get much done in the first two Tests on those slow wickets so Southee came in for him in the third and, there we go, match figures of 4/98 in a series-deciding victory. And he chased that with 6-for in the first Test against Sri Lanka. Yeah that’ll do, Tim. Right on.

Southee just turned 30 years old a week ago and with his newfound fallibility in the Test side that’s seemed to spark a little narrative. Because he’s no longer assured of his spot in the team in all conditions it’s as though that’s supposed to mirror his form and mark a rounding of the bend in his career. But the opposite is true. Whilst being used more judiciously in the Test team he’s been absolutely bloody magnificent – his last ten matches have seen him take 55 wickets at an average of 22.23.

To be fair, that’s going back to the 2016 visit by Pakistan, so it only includes one away series which Tim Southee barely played in. So to frame it more evenly here are the averages by Blackcaps bowlers in Aotearoa since that time:

BOWLING AVERAGES IN NZ SINCE NOV 2016

First of all, sucks to be a spinner in this country, doesn’t it? With all those seamers hogging the overs you don’t even get a chance to bowl most of the time. Those numbers are limited to those who’ve logged at least 15 overs but nobody else has taken a wicket anyway. Literally just one over for Jeet Raval and six for Kane Williamson missing from the list… why doesn’t Kane bowl himself more?

Anyway, take out the prerequisite of home Tests and Southee’s even further out in front. Boult has 56 wickets at 25.48 in that time, Wagner 55 at 28.58 and CDG sneaks in under the thirty mark too. Southee has four 5-fors in that time which is as many as the rest of them all combined. I’m not trying to tell you that Tim Southee has been a great bowler or nothing, you already know that, what I’m saying is that he continues to be a great bowler for the Blackcaps and if he misses the odd Test now and then because the conditions are better suited to an extra spinner then that’s only proving to enhance what Southee does. Keeps him hungry, keeps him effective. Everybody wins.

Having said that, it’s worth mentioning that Southee’s career arc is the complete opposite in the ODI stuff. When he shredded England in the World Cup with 7/33, New Zealand’s best ever ODI bowling figures, well it’s safe to say that at that point he was deservedly untouchable. It was one of the finest individual performances I can remember and I’ll assume you feel the same. Jeez, he was on fire that day.

What’s concerning is that Southee has been pure pants with the white ball ever since. From the very next game to the present day Timmy averages 47.70 in ODIs. Sliding sharply downhill since the prime moment of his ODI career. 50 wickets in 47 matches at an average that, were it a batting average, Kane Williamson would be satisfied with. In the same amount of time Trent Boult has… see for yourself…

SINCE SOUTHEE’S 7-FOR vs ENGLAND (ODI):

• Trent Boult – 50 GM | 103 WKT | 23.82 AVE | 26.8 SR | 7/34 BBI

• Tim Southee – 47 GM | 50 WKT | 47.70 AVE | 49.6 SR | 3/22 BBI

At this point it feels appropriate to point out that Neil Wagner has STILL never represented New Zealand in limited overs cricket. Lockie Ferguson has 32 wickets at 27.78 in that time. Matt Henry has 47 wickets at 29.29. Even Adam Milne has 24 at 36.29. The only kiwi bowlers with worse ODI bowling averages than Southee in this time frame are Colin de Grandhomme (13 @ 49.38), Colin Munro (7 @ 55.85 bowling his part-timers) and Seth Rance (2 @ 110.0… in only two matches). That’s definitely one to keep an eye on after the next Test vs Sri Lanka when the limited overs stuff kicks into gear.

For now though, just know that Tim Southee is bowling as well as he ever has with a red ball and know that it probably helps that he’s not being expected to play every single game too, so if the old guard/commentary brigade have a big moan next time he sits out a Test you don’t have to fall for the obvious emotional response. Which I doubt you would anyway, since you’re reading The Niche Cache and not one of those other publications. Y’all know who I mean.

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