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New Zealand is starting to suffer from the club vs country debate as well-known players are choosing not to sign central contracts. Test captain Tim Southee accepted the problem and attributed it to “the changing landscape of international cricket” as they prepared for a run of nine Test matches in the coming months.
Ahead of New Zealand’s departure for India to play Afghanistan in a one-off Test in Greater Noida, he recently expressed hope that the cricket boards and the franchise leagues find a way of “working together” to resolve the issue. The board of his country was “trying to come up with what’s best for both parties”.
“There are plenty of offers out there that weren’t around years ago,” he said. “But yeah, at the moment it’s concentrate on playing for New Zealand and giving that everything at the moment.”
It won’t affect the team, he said: “We’ve seen a number of guys who haven’t taken contracts, guys that are sitting on this plane with guys with contracts.”
Adam Milne, Lockie Ferguson, Trent Boult, and Kane Williamson are a few of the athletes who have turned down contracts in recent months. Among them, Williamson is part of the team for the first of six Tests in the subcontinent (the remaining two are in Sri Lanka and India). Following this, New Zealand will play England at home in November and December.
“If you look at it as a whole – six Test matches in the subcontinent – it’s exciting,” Southee said. “It’s probably something we haven’t done, in my time anyway. It’s a great challenge for the side.”
The fast bowlers may occasionally take a backseat and the spinners may take centre stage throughout the six Test matches on the subcontinent. Ajaz Patel, Mitchell Santner, Rachin Ravindra, and Michael Bracewell are among the talented players representing New Zealand in the competition. Glenn Phillips provides part-time offspin. Naturally, there is a genuine threat from Afghanistan’s spin.
“That part of the world, spin is going to play a big part. They’ve got some quality spinners, mixed in with some quality quicks as well,” Southee said. “We’ve seen in other formats that’s been their strength, their bowling unit, particularly their spinners. It’s going to be an exciting challenge.
“[The role of the spinners] might change from venue to venue, change from India to Sri Lanka and back to India. We have the options. We have guys that can bowl spin, offspin, left-arm spin, so we’ve got a good mix, mixed in with some quality pace as well. It’s exciting for all the spinners. We were in Bangladesh last year, so as a spin bowler, I’m sure you’re looking forward to this challenge.”
As for his own game, Southee acknowledged, not for the first time, that he wasn’t “at my best towards the end of the summer”. But “the body is good,” he said as a bunch of New Zealand players left Auckland for India, adding, “The cricket I have played since [the last summer] has been pretty good, so I have enjoyed a bit of a break and enjoyed a bit of the cricket as well.”