Unrest in Kiwi camp? Neil Wagner retirement was ‘forced’, says Ross Taylor

Wagner, New Zealand’s fifth-highest wicket-taker in Test cricket, recently announced an emotional retirement before the start of the first Test match against Australia. Having been informed that he wouldn’t be picked in the first-choice XI during the series, 37-year-old Wagner thought it was best for him to walk away. However, he did take the field during the first Test as a substitute fielder and ran the drinks on occasions.

During the Test match, Will O’Rourke, who recently made his Test debut against South Africa, suffered an injury, raising speculations of a dramatic comeback for Wagner from retirement. But they didn’t last long as New Zealand named Ben Sears as his replacement once he was officially ruled out.

12 years, 64 Tests, 260 wickets… one of New Zealand's greatest.

Neil Wagner has announced his retirement from international cricket. pic.twitter.com/XcOCLqRXXB

— Wisden (@WisdenCricket) February 27, 2024

Taylor, who retired two years ago, feels that Wagner’s retirement might have been forced, while Aaron Finch, the former Australia white-ball skipper, suggested that there might be some unrest brewing in the New Zealand camp.

Speaking on ESPN’s Around the Wicket podcast, Finch said that was unable to make sense of Wagner’s absence from the series, and that Australia’s mammoth 10th-wicket partnership in the first innings of the Wellington Test wouldn’t have happened had Wagner been there.

“I couldn’t believe Neil Wagner wasn’t in the XI,” said Finch. “I just genuinely thought that he must have been out through a niggle. The success he’s had against Australia, particularly Steve Smith over a period of time, you can guarantee that the last wicket partnership wouldn’t have happened if Wagner was there.

“Because he would have intimidated Josh Hazlewood at least. He might have stopped Cameron Green from scoring as well. I thought that was a really interesting decision.”

Green and Hazlewood added 116 runs for the last wicket, taking the game away from New Zealand. Taylor agreed with Finch’s assessment and felt that Wagner’s presence would have made a huge difference: “It’s not only his experience and the way he goes about it, but you know, the opposition, you heard [Pat] Cummins talking about the plans that they had for him.

“Experience plays a lot, but no, I agree with Finchy. If he comes around the wicket to Hazlewood, he might have got him away for a couple of boundaries or even a six. But I think for the prolonged time he would have attacked him for, I don’t think they would have got a 100-run partnership.

“I think it all makes sense a little bit now. There’s no sugarcoating it: I think it’s a forced retirement. If you listen to Wagner’s press conference, he was retiring, but it was after this last Test match. So he did make himself available.

“And to see that he isn’t selected … I think I do like and you do need to plan for the future, but a one-off Test against Australia in a must-win situation, I wouldn’t be looking much further than Neil Wagner. And I’m sure the Australian batters are sleeping easy that he’s not in the side.”

Wagner had played in the series against South Africa, where he took two wickets in the only Test he played. During that game, there were a couple of moments which Neroli Meadows, the host of the Around the Wicket podcast mentioned with regards to Wagner. He was seen showing the finger and shushing someone, although it isn’t clear whether it was directed at someone from the opposition, the crowd, or the New Zealand camp.

[caption id=”attachment_606388″ align=”alignnone” width=”1024″] Neil Wagner flicking the finger during the second NZ vs SA Test in Hamilton. (Photo by FIONA GOODALL/AFP via Getty Images)[/caption]

[caption id=”attachment_606389″ align=”alignnone” width=”1024″] Neil Wagner shushing someone during the second Test vs South Africa in Hamilton. (Photo by Hannah Peters/Getty Images)[/caption]

Finch joked about the atmosphere in the New Zealand camp as well. “About time that there’s more unrest in the Kiwi camp. For so long they’ve been poking fun at us because there’s always a little bit going on behind the scenes in Australian cricket. It’s great to see.” Taylor brushed the comments aside.

“The nice guys of cricket not so nice to each other at the moment,” concluded the host.