Tim Southee: Bowling against likes of Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid and Virender Sehwag was a dream come true

New Zealand pacer Tim Southee has been playing international cricket for more than 13 years now. Southee had accumulated 322 Test, 190 ODI and 111 T20 wickets over his illustrious career but revealed that playing against the Indian cricket team is always special.

Southee was the pick of the Black Caps bowlers in the drawn first Test against India in Kanpur, claiming eight wickets in the game – including 5/69 in the first innings. Southee on Monday (December 20) revealed that sharing field with the likes of Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, VVS Laxman and Virender Sehwag was special.

“I started off by sharing the field with the likes of Tendulkar, Dravid and Laxman and Sehwag. Although I didn’t manage a lot of success against them but bowling to my cricketing heroes at the start of my career was always special,” Southee revealed during a virtual media conference on Monday.

Amazon Prime Video will debut live cricket streaming on January 1, 2022, telecasting all matches of the Black Caps and White Ferns. New Zealand’s upcoming series against Bangladesh will be available on the platform to live stream.

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“Yeah, I guess we do not have superstars in terms of X-players in the coaching staff but we have a great team environment. Not only the players, the support staff also buys into that. We respect everyone, we try to have a lot of fun and everyone works hard. Guys buy into what the team is about and what we all are trying to achieve,” Southee said.

Skipper Kane Williamson said that he does not fuss much about his side being constantly viewed as the underdogs in big ICC tournaments despite reaching the semi-finals on almost all the occasions in the last few years.

“I am yet to hear the favourites tag but yeah for us, it is always about focusing on the bigger picture as a side and trying to put our energy into taking one step ahead. There is a lot of planning that goes on. But you go to tournaments and every team is strong,” said Williamson.

“If you look at the last T20 World Cup 2021, anybody can beat anybody. There are no promises at those situations, it is about going out there and being prepared to the best of your ability to give yourself the best chance of winning. There are number of challenges along the way, as a side it is about sticking together and keep moving forward,” he added.

Williamson and the Black Caps’ behaviour on the field has been exceptional over the years and that’s why they remain fans’ favourites over the years.

“As a profile, we are the ambassadors of the game. So maintaining good behaviour both on and off the field is very important,” Williamson, who was retained by Sunrisers Hyderabad before the IPL 2022 mega auction, said.

(with ANI inputs)

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