Image Credit- ICC
Neil Wagner, a fast
bowler for New Zealand, declared his retirement after finding out he would not
be playing in the current Test series against Australia. Ross Taylor, a former
teammate, believes Wagner’s decision was “forced.”
Responding to a question on ESPN’s Around The Wicket podcast about Wagner’s
finger-on-the-mouth celebration after dismissing Zubayr Hamza in his final Test
appearance, against South Africa in Hamilton, and a visual of him showing
someone the middle finger as the team got in a huddle to celebrate another
wicket, Taylor said, “I think it all makes sense a little bit now. There’s
no sugarcoating it: 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
[against Australia]. So he did make himself available.”
Wagner was scheduled
to be cut from the team following the Wellington first Test. However, William
O’Rourke’s injury spurred speculation about a possible recall for the second
Test in Christchurch. However, New Zealand chose fast bowler Ben Sears, who is
yet uncapped, rather than going down that path.
“And to see that he isn’t selected… I think you do need to plan for the
future, but a one-off Test against Australia in a must-win situation, I
wouldn’t be looking much further than Neil Wagner. And I’m sure the Australian
batters are sleeping easy that he’s not in the side,” Taylor said.
Aaron Finch, also on
the podcast, said Wagner would have likely stopped Australia from posting as
big a total as they did in their first innings at the Basin Reserve, which laid
down the platform for their 172-run win.
“I couldn’t believe Neil Wagner wasn’t in the XI. I just genuinely thought
that he must have been out through a niggle,” Finch said. “The
success he’s had against Australia, particularly [against] Steven Smith over a
period of time, you can guarantee that the last wicket partnership wouldn’t
have happened if Wagner was there.
“Because he would have intimidated Josh Hazlewood at least. He might have
stopped Cameron Green from scoring as well. I thought that was a really
interesting decision,” Finch said.