Ross Taylor shared his views on Neil Wagner’s retirement and said it indicated that there is some unrest in the New Zealand camp.
Former New Zealand captain Ross Taylor has made a huge claim about Neil Wagner’s retirement ahead of the Test series against Australia as he called it a forced one. Wagner was named in the squad for the series but after he got to know that he wouldn’t be in the playing XI for the opening Test, he took the big decision.
Neil Wagner announced his retirement from international cricket ahead of the Australia series.
The South African-born left-arm paceman addressed the press conference ahead of the opening Test and bid a tearful adieu to international cricket. In 64 Tests he played for New Zealand, Wagner claimed 260 wickets and was an integral part of their fast-bowling unit for the past few years.
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Wagner grabbed the eyeballs during the Test series against South Africa earlier this year where he apparently showed his middle finger to someone in a New Zealand hurdle and also celebrated a wicket with a shush gesture.
Taylor shared his views on Wagner’s retirement and said it indicated that there is some unrest in the New Zealand camp which former Australia star Aaron Finch also suggested in the same discussion.
“I think it all makes sense a little bit now. There’s no sugarcoating and I think it’s a forced retirement. If you listen to Wagner’s press conference, he was retiring but it was after this last Test match so he just did make himself available,” Taylor told ESPN.
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The former New Zealand skipper also talked about Wagner’s exclusion from playing XI in the first Test and asserted that it wouldn’t have been that easy for Australia in Wellington.
“I think anytime it’s not only his experience in the way he goes about it. But the opposition you heard Cummins talking about the plans that they had (for Wagner) from you know, experience plays a lot but no I agree with Finchy. If he comes around the wicket to Hazlewood he might have got him away for a couple of boundaries or even a six but for a long time he would have attacked them for
I don’t think they would have got a hundred-run partnership,” he added.
Meanwhile, after Will O’Rourke’s injury in the opening Test, Tim Southee indicated that NZ might recall Wagner back in the squad for the second match but it didn’t happen as selectors picked Ben Sears as the replacement.
Taylor said that the Australian batters are sleeping easy before the second Test after knowing that Wagner won’t be there in New Zealand’s line-up.
“And to see that he isn’t selected (for second Test), they are going for Sears, I do like and you do need to plan for future, but in a one-off Test against Australia in a must-situation, I wouldn’t be looking much further than Neil Wagner, and I’m sure the Australian batters are a sleeping easy, that he is not in the side,” he concluded.
