New Zealand pacer Tim Southee might be playing his final Test match of his career at his home ground, Seddon Park in Hamilton, however, the veteran has the chance to clinch a couple of key milestones, one each with bat and ball. Southee with his quickfire knock in the first innings did get closer to one as he smashed three sixes during his rapid 23 off 10 as he walked out to bat amid fanfare on Day 1 of the third and final Test against England on Saturday, December 14.
Southee received a guard of honour from the England team led by Ben Stokes as he went out to bat and was quick into his work, taking the opposite captain apart. Southee smashed a couple of sixes against Stokes before hitting another one off Gus Atkinson in the next over, followed by a boundary. Southee's blitz took him level with Chris Gayle, no less, on the list of batters with the most number of sixes in Test cricket (98).
Southee is now just two big hits away from becoming only the fourth cricketer in Test cricket history to hit 100 sixes and the first-ever pure pacer to reach the milestone.
Most sixes in Test cricket
133 - Ben Stokes (in 197 innings)
107 - Brendon McCullum (in 176 innings)
100 - Adam Gilchrist (in 137 innings)
98* - Tim Southee (in 155 innings)
98 - Chris Gayle (in 182 innings)
97 - Jacques Kallis (in 280 innings)
91 - Virender Sehwag (in 180 innings)
With the ball, Southee has 389 wickets to his name and needs 11 to get to the landmark of 400 wickets. If Southee does get to the milestone, he will become 18th bowler to get to 400 wickets and only the second Kiwi after Sir Richard Hadlee.
As for the match, New Zealand managed to stage a late comeback following a middle-order collapse. The day started with New Zealand dominating it and ended with the hosts finishing well before England took 5/59 in the middle to stay in the game as they look to whitewash having won the first two games.
