Credits: X
New Zealand’s Test captain and seasoned bowler Tim Southee picked Test cricket while naming his favourite cricketing format. Southee said that the longest format of cricket is still closest to his heart despite the immense popularity of the T20 format. Southee said that he is committed to the longer format and explained the importance over the shorter versions of cricket. The Kiwi bowler said that franchise competitions help add to a player’s skill set.
Southee told ESPNcricinfo, "Format-wise, I think Test cricket is still the pinnacle for me and the format I hold closest to the heart. I really enjoy the T20, the Hundred format keeps you young, keeps you guessing, keeps you thinking and trying to improve your game, and your skill set, which helps across the other formats."
Would be nice to see boards and leagues working together: Tim Southee
The Black Caps cricketer said that he wants the international cricket boards and franchises to work together to come up with a plan to make things easier for cricketers. The 35-year-old feels that currently cricketers are burdened by the dilemma of picking between the two. Southee opined, “At this stage, obviously the franchise leagues and the franchise world is growing. It would be nice to see the boards and the leagues working together in some way because, especially Test cricket, I think for a lot of players it is still the pinnacle of the format.”
He added, “I guess it's the way that cricket is going and then the amount of T20 leagues that are popping up. To look at it from Kane (Williamson) and Devon's (Conway) point of view, they're still committed to New Zealand cricket, and we've got nine Test matches coming up. So they're committed to those Test matches. So as far as the Test side is concerned, it's not too dissimilar. They're still going to be there even though they don't have a New Zealand contract."
