Retiring New Zealand pacer Tim Southee was given a guard of honour by the England team as he walked out to bat in his final Test match.
In the third and final Test of the series between the sides at Seddon Park in Hamilton, England elected to field first – a decision that appeared ill-advised as New Zealand openers Tom Latham and Will Young put on 105.
But once Gus Atkinson broke through with the wicket of Young, the visitors went on to pick up wickets at regular intervals. Matthew Potts accounted for Latham and Kane Williamson, as Brydon Carse got rid of Rachin Ravindra and Tom Blundell.
Read more: Five takeaways from England's disciplined first day in Hamilton
In the third session of the day's play, New Zealand were reduced to 272-8, at which point Tim Southee walked out to bat. As he made his way onto the pitch, the England team and substitute fielders lined up on either side to form a guard of honour, and applauded him to the crease.
This is Southee's final Test match, having announced last month that this series would be his last, with his final match coming on his home ground. One end of the ground of Seddon Park has now been named after him.
Gus Atkinson became the joint third-fastest England bowler since the Second World War to hit this milestone, ranking just behind Ian Botham.
— Wisden (@WisdenCricket) December 14, 2024
Check the full list here ➡️ https://t.co/1BvXWZfnUR pic.twitter.com/0fVOOtxs8g
His time at the crease was short, but sweet. He laced three sixes in ten deliveries at the crease, scoring 23 and taking his tally of maximums in Test cricket to 98, the joint fourth-highest recorded in the history of the game. At stumps on day one, New Zealand were 315-9, with Mitchell Santner unbeaten on 50 off 54 balls and No.11 Will O'Rourke for company.
Perhaps more notably, Southee will retire as New Zealand's second-highest wicket-taker of all time, behind Richard Hadlee. He is currently 11 wickets and two sixes away from completing what would be a unique double of 400 wickets and 100 sixes in Test cricket.
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