Southee acknowledges doubts about his future as captain.

Soon after New Zealand lost to Australia by an astonishing three wickets in Christchurch securing a 2-0 series win for the visitors. Captain Tim Southee pragmatically spoke to the media. Given his poor performance in the series. Tim Tim Southee knows that his position as captain and possibly even his playing career may not be guaranteed. The Black Caps’ upcoming red-ball assignment, a one-off match against Afghanistan in September of this year. He will mark the beginning of a phase that will also involve trips to Sri Lanka and India.

The 35-year-old, who played in 100 Tests for the Christchurch team. Took just four wickets in the entire series—a startling figure for an experienced player who was even outbowled by Ben Sears. A rookie, in the second Test. Throughout the series, Matt Henry (17 wickets) led both sides’ charts. But Southee’s at best erratic periods offered him little assistance. He won the toss and bowled well, but he struggled to hit the correct distances on the first day of the Wellington Test, as an example.

“We’ll see,” remarked Southee. “Naturally, the makeup of the opposition changes slightly as you reach Asia, with spin becoming the main threat. However, after we arrive, we’ll see. We’ll take care of this tonight and look forward to the future.”

During the run chase in Christchurch, Southee’s captaincy came under scrutiny when, after allowing his pacers extended stints. He postponed Glenn Phillips’ entrance in the morning session. While circumstances here favoured pace over spin, the part-time off-spinner had caused issues for the Australians in the first game. Nevertheless, there was general agreement that Southee should have mixed and matched a bit. Especially with Marsh and Carey able to withstand the early burst from the quicks. It turned out that throughout his time, Phillips seemed inquisitive and nearly produced a chance at the stroke of lunch. Nonetheless, Southee decided to reject the critique.

“Looking back is a beautiful thing,” Southee remarked. “But I think we thought that seam was an option because of how many times we passed the bat in the first session. During that first session, we produced a couple of opportunities. We felt that seam was a wise decision, I believe.”

Not only in the Tests but also in the previous white-ball leg, New Zealand’s fielding has been disappointing throughout the series. The hosts performed far less than their typically high caliber on the field. There were also some significant errors in Christchurch, like as Mitchell Marsh’s lost catch when the batter was only on 28. At one point, Rachin Ravindra blew a clear opportunity, providing Marsh with a lifeline that he would later utilize. However, the Black Caps were given some comfort when Travis Head made a similar short at backward point on the very next ball. Southee justified his team’s fielding and catching during the game by citing that as a defense.

“Guys don’t intentionally miss catches,” stated Southee. “Everyone works very hard at fielding. It was eliminated early in the day. However, if we accept that, we won’t be able to take the wicket the following ball, and who’s to say Head doesn’t continue and score as high as Marsh? You reflect on several things. But they put a lot of effort into their fielding..”

The story of New Zealand’s infittness to defeat Australia in the high-profile games was furthered by the loss in Christchurch. Two World Cup finals stand out in the list: the 2015 ODI World Cup and the 2021 T20 World Cup. The Black Caps have occasionally triumphed in a bilateral match against their Trans-Tasman rivals but overall as the statistics attest—Australia has dominated, especially in Tests. Since 2011, New Zealand has not won a Test match against Australia at home; the last time this happened was in 1993. Though rumors abound over a potential mental block that might prevent New Zealand from defeating Australia, Tim Southee opted to remain neutral.

“I am uncertain,” Southee remarked. “They’re a difficult team to defeat both at home and away from Australia.

I believe that to perform at your best, you must give it your all during those brief moments. Throughout both Test matches. There were instances when we could have performed a little bit better and other times when things might have gone a little differently. However, it was just one more fantastic Test, and there have been many of them in recent years.