Tim Southee is a man for all seasons. He never complains, never grumbles, just does his job. Just like he did at the Basin Reserve on the first two days, bowling against the wind and scalping four.
An old fashioned swing bowler he has adapted to the modern game. And he can turn adversity - the physically draining task of bowling against the wind here - into his strength with his heart and movement.
Both Prithvi Shaw and R. Ashwin were opened up and castled by the 31-year-old senior professional, with 274 Test scalps.
Yet, Southee was wary against making predictions or putting a number of the target his team could face.
“ I don’t think there ever is a safe number and so I think it’s just about us putting partnerships together and batting for as long as we can in this first innings. Then going out and doing our job with the ball. It’s obviously going to be tougher in the second innings for us bowlers," he said.
He acknowledged there was some turn on offer at the Basin Reserve. “There is a little bit of spin. You don’t usually see that on Day 2 at the Basin. That’s why the first innings becomes important.”
Southee said the run-out of Pant in the morning was a big breakthrough, “because he can be such a dangerous player.”
The Kiwi added, “We knew though if we could open one end up with the bowlers then Jinks [Rahane] was looking to play a little bit more aggressively, which brings us into play a little more. Yeah I think the way we bowled this morning was pretty good. To come off and finish the Indian batting line-up like that with two dangerous players in the morning.”
Talking about his swing, Southee said, “Well, I probably gave up worrying about speed a while ago, so I guess you’ve got to rely on other skills, and I guess swing."
About Bumrah having an off-day, Southee said, “I don’t think there’s anything wrong with him. He’s a world-class bowler." On Ishant, Southee said, “He’s been a world class bowler for a long time. He’s got experience.”
About himself, his self-effacing Kiwi is modest.
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