Neil Wagner. Pic Credits: X

IND vs NZ: Neil Wagner Opens About His Retirement News, Says He Was Angry With How Things Were Handled

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Neil Wagner, a former New Zealand cricket player, talked about how he realised his international career was over. In his autobiography “All Out,” the left-arm speedster disclosed that head coach Gary Stead informed him of the situation. Neil Wagner was one of New Zealand’s most unstoppable pacers and tended to bowl for extended periods while taking wickets. The selectors, however, decided to go for new talent for this year’s series against Australia after the veteran lost their favor.

Neil Wagner has a world record to his name as he removed Stewart Rhodes, Joe Austin-Smellie, Jeetan Patel, and Ili Tugaga in four balls against Wellington on April 6, 2011. He then claimed the wicket of Mark Gillespie with the sixth delivery of the same over, making it the first occasion in first-class cricket history that five wickets were taken in a 6-ball over. At the time, his personal best bowling numbers for the innings were 6/36.

Neil Wagner Was Angry With How Things Unfolded.

The southpaw mentioned in his autobiography what Stead told him (as per stuff.co.nz):

“There’s no easy way of telling you this, mate. I’m really sorry, but we are not picking you for the Australia series. We think your international career is over and that you should retire”

The 38-year-old was crucial to New Zealand’s victory over India in the 2021 World Test Championship (WTC) final. He finished with 260 wickets at 27.57 overall, including nine fifers, in 64 Test matches. On February 27, 2024, he made his retirement official.

The South African-born athlete added that he had begun to despise the sport and that it was difficult to watch Australia and New Zealand compete in Christchurch from the sidelines. In his memoirs, he added:

“I was suddenly so angry at how this had been handled. Instead of looking back with pride on my test-match achievements — 64 matches, 260 wickets, a member of the inaugural WTC-winning team – all I could think about were the hurtful circumstances of how it ended. For the first time in my life, I found myself hating cricket.”

Australia’s chances of making it to the World Test Championship (WTC) final were in doubt after they blanked New Zealand 2-0 in that series. But recently, a team led by Tom Latham shocked India 3-0 in their own stadium. Next up for the Black Caps is a three-match series against England in red-ball cricket.

Also Read : https://goworldwide.co.in/jake-fraser-mcgurk-matt-short-called-bullies/


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