Most international wickets for New Zealand
New Zealand suffered a big humiliating defeat against England at home in the first Test in their latest international outing. They stormed back in style as they won the second Test in a rare set of circumstances. New Zealand won the second Test by one run and they also won after being asked to follow on.
New Zealand’s new red-ball team captain Tim Southee managed to grab the headlines as he became the first Kiwi bowler to take 700 international wickets. He has been in fine form across formats lately and will go down in history as one of the best pacers of all time. Let’s take look at his stats and who he surpassed to top the bowling chart for New Zealand.
3. Richard Hadlee – 589 wickets
The legendary Kiwi all-rounder remains in the memories of fans all around the globe for his remarkable contribution to the game. The right-arm pace all-rounder was the first-ever bowler to take 400 wickets in Test cricket as he took 431 wickets from just 86 Tests, a record at that time. Hadlee took 589 wickets from just 201 international matches at an unbelievable average of 22.10 with 41 five-wicket hauls/
2. Daniel Vettori – 696 wickets
The former Kiwi captain was the arguably nation’s finest spinner of all time. Vettori, who also scored almost 7000 international runs, was the leading wicket-taker across formats till Southee surpassed him last month. The left-arm off-spinner took 696 wickets from 437 international matches at an average of 32.43 and an amazing economy rate of 3.13.
1. Tim Southee – 703 wickets
The 34-year-old right-arm pacer surpassed Vettori’s record of 696 international wickets during the second Test against Pakistan last month. Southee took two wickets in the first Test and one in the first innings against England in the 2nd Test to become the first Kiwi bowler to take 700 international wickets.
Southee is the leading wicket-taker in the world in T20Is with 134 wickets from 105 innings and leads the ODI bowling chart for his nation with 297 wickets from 291 matches. He has taken 359 wickets from 92 Tests and is only behind Vettori (361) and Hadlee (431). Overall, Southee has taken 703 wickets from 353 international matches at an average of 29.49 and an economy rate of 3.99.
