New Zealand skipper Tim Southee has indicated that retired pacer Neil Wagner might be called out of retirement for the second Test against Australia. Southee’s comments came after New Zealand lost the first Test by 172 runs and debutant pacer Will O’Rourke got injured. Southee, however, did not confirm Wagner’s involvement outrightly and said that it depended on O’Rourke’s injury. 

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“We haven’t had a lot of discussions as yet,” Southee said after the match. “We’ll see how Will scrubs up. The physio hasn’t sort of put a timeframe on it or how bad it is. We’ll just wait and see how Will goes over the next couple of days. I’m sure there’ll be an update in the next 24 hours.

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“We obviously have to go on and make a decision on who comes in and what role we sort of see that playing out in Christchurch.

“[Wagner’s] had a great reception here over the last week where he got a couple of moments on the field and obviously he’s been a fan favorite for a long time.”

Notably, Wagner had retired before the first match only with 260 Test wickets to his name in 64 Tests – the fifth most for a New Zealand bowler.

As for the match, New Zealand had Australia pinned down at 267/9 in the first innings before Cameron Green scored 174 not out to take his team to 383. In reply, New Zealand were bowled out for 179 in the first innings.

Come second innings, New Zealand did well by bowling Australia out for 164 with part-timer Glenn Phillips taking a five-for. With a target of 369, the Kiwis did well to end day 3 at 111/3, needing 256 more to win.

On day 4 (March 3), Aussie spinner Nathan Lyon, was in prime form, taking six wickets in total to bowl New Zealand out for 196 to win the match for his team.

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