By Ian Omoro

After winning his final Test by 423 runs, New Zealand bowler Tim Southee has officially announced his retirement, expressing gratitude to his family, friends, and teammates for supporting him over the past 17 years and stating he now looks forward to following the sport as a fan.

New Zealand’s victory over England by a commanding 423-run margin was their biggest victory ever. England won the series 2-1, so it may have simply been a consolation, but it allowed one of their favorite pacers to retire in style.

Even though the encore went on long after he led New Zealand off the field for the last time, the Southee farewell tour has ended. The Test cap, sun-blanched after 16 years of work, was given a final rise to all four corners following that first World Test Championship and 776 international wickets (the most for New Zealand) in 394 matches. He acknowledged that he has no idea where it will go now that he is finished, but it has gained a special position in the Southee home because it represents a boyhood ambition realized.

Southee leaves the game with the most international wickets of any Kiwi bowler in all forms, 776. Southee took 391 Test wickets, which was second only to Richard Hadlee’s 431 scalps as a NZ bowler. He has taken more wickets than any other bowler in T20Is, with 164. After Daniel Vettori (297 wickets) and Kyle Mills (240 wickets), he is the third-highest wicket-taker for the Kiwis in ODIs with 221 wickets.

“The time I’ve had in the hat has been very special. As a kid, I just wanted to grow up and represent New Zealand. To sit here and have nearly 800 wickets is pretty satisfying,” Southee said during a post-match presentation.

“It’s time now for these young guys. I think we’ve seen a number come through in the last couple of years, and I’m excited to sit back and watch them continue to take this team forward and enjoy what they’ve got to offer,” he added.

At an average of 14.11, he scored 3,288 runs in 394 games, including eight fifties, demonstrating his ability as a lower-order hitter. With seven fifties and 2,245 runs at an average of 15.48, the majority of these runs occurred during Test matches. He has the fourth-highest number of sixes of any Test cricket player with 98.

Taking the team to a new level and inspiring future players as a true legend were aspects of his final farewell. Will O’Rourke’s devastating spells in both of this third Test’s innings were additional testaments to the 23-year-old’s exceptional abilities. In the first two Test matches, Nathan Smith showed himself to be a dedicated player who isn’t scared of the grind. Both have somewhat eased Southee’s choice, as have Jacob Duffy and Ben Sears. The skilled hands will continue to hold the red ball.