New Zealand's veteran pacer Tim Southee etched his name in the record books on Day 1 of the third Test against England at Seddon Park, Hamilton on December 14. The star pacer, on his playing his farewell Test, joined the elite club of cricketers with the most sixes in Test cricket and equalled Chris Gayle's record.
Tim Southee equals Chris Gayle's big record
Southee, who received a guard of honor from the England team as he walked out to bat, quickly made his presence felt. He wasted no time in getting off the mark, smashing Ben Stokes for a six on just the third ball of his innings. Two balls later, he repeated the feat, this time clearing the deep backward square leg boundary. In the following over, Southee continued his onslaught, launching a massive six over deep mid-wicket off Gus Atkinson.
With this third six, Southee reached the milestone of 98 maximums in Test cricket, equaling the legendary West Indies batter Chris Gayle.
Southee's entertaining cameo came to an end when he edged a delivery from Atkinson to Carse at mid-off. His quickfire 23 off 10 balls, which included one four and three sixes, solidified his position as the fourth-highest six-hitter in Test cricket history. With just two more maximums, he has the opportunity to become the fourth player to surpass the 100-six milestone in Test cricket.
New Zealand concluded Day 1 at 315/9 in 82 overs, with Mitchell Santner (50*) and William O'Rourke (0*) unbeaten. The hosts got off to a solid start, with openers Tom Latham (63) and Will Young (42) putting on a 105-run partnership. However, the innings lost momentum after the dismissal of Latham and Young, with several quick wickets reducing New Zealand to 212/4.
The partnership between Latham and Young was eventually broken when Young was dismissed by Gus Atkinson. Soon after, Latham was dismissed by Matthew Potts, leaving New Zealand at 172/3.
Kane Williamson's dismissal, bowled in a peculiar manner for 44 runs, further disrupted the New Zealand innings. The hosts then suffered a significant collapse, with Rachin Ravindra (18), Daryl Mitchell (14), Tom Blundell (21), and Matt Henry (8) all falling cheaply, leaving them reeling at 231/7. However, valuable contributions from Southee and Santner, who scored a crucial half-century, helped New Zealand notch 315/9.
