Tim Southee backs Kiwi mix of youth and experience to shine in CT 2025

Ahead of the Champions Trophy 2025 former New Zealand pacer Tim Southee backed the Black Caps inexperienced bowling attack by saying that they will do a wonderful job in the mega event after he watched them perform impressively in the triseriesTim Southee who has 776 international wickets for New Zealand was an integral part of his national team until his retirement in 2024With Trent Boult not featuring and Lockie Ferguson looking uncertain the pace bowling load will be shared by Will ORourke Jacob Duffy Nathan Smith and Matt Henry ahead of the Champions Trophy 2025Its something different not having Trent Boult and myself at an ICC event but at the same time its exciting These events are great to be a part of and its in front of these guys now Im very excited to see how they go Tim SoutheeThe way the team has played different guys have stepped up Its a good mix between some experienced guys and some exciting young guys with a lot of potential Tim Southee was quoted as saying in an ICC press releaseThe experience of this TriNation Series is only going to stand them in good stead for the tournament So taking some momentum into the tournament and being accustomed to those conditions its only going to be a good thing Southee saidAlso ReadShreyas Iyer Indias middleorder hustler and calming elementTim Southee who accounted 221 ODI wickets feels Will ORourke has the potential of becoming the backbone of New Zealands pace attack in the futureWill ORourke in the Test game weve seen what he can do Hes still so young but hes got all the attributes that are going to set him up to have a lot of success in international cricket Im looking forward to watching him in his first ICC eventWill is a man of few words but certainly listens and wants to get better We know hes got the pace and bounce hes got great skills He just keeps growing weve seen that in the Test game and hes continued to get betterHis game is far from finished but Im sure hell be a massive asset to New Zealand cricket across all three formats for a long time to comeTim Southee also praised Nathan SmithNathan Smith has a real confidence about him and believes in himself which I think you need at this level He is also happy that veteran Kane Williamson is in fine nick which will boost New Zealands chancesKane is in good form its nice to see him with a couple of scores hes obviously class Hes not played a lot of oneday cricket for the last few years but to see him come back and have two significant contributions is what were used to seeingBut its also pleasing for me now as a fan of the Black Caps When he Williamson is in the middle it comes with experience and the way he plays he just looks in control the whole timeWilliamson Devon Conway Tom Latham Daryl Mitchell and Glenn Phillips form the backbone of New Zealand batting and Southee believes that the five are better judges of how to pace their innings in a 50over formatThat is what sets those four or five batters apart from the rest They are able to sum up conditions sum up moments in games and more times than not they come out on the right side of things He Williamson brings a calmness to the groupHe praised leftarm spinner Mitchell Santners leadership skillsMitch has done a great job as captain Its still reasonably new to him but I experienced a bit of his captaincy towards the end of my career Hes very calm you see that in the way he plays his cricketHe thinks about the game well and I think he looks to lead with his performances across all three areas Hes one of best fielders an unbelievably skilful bowler and a morethanuseful batter So Im sure hell be looking to lead in all those three areasSo can New Zealand go all the way and follow in the footsteps of the 2000 vintage Tim Southee certainly thinks soIf you look at the track record of New Zealand in ICC events they are always there or thereabouts In a tournament like the Champions Trophy if you get on a bit of a roll anything can happen Id love to see the Black Caps there and hopefully lifting the trophy at the endWith PTI Inputs