Tim Southee's axing for the third test against Australia at the SCG has left former Black Caps skipper Brendon McCullum baffled.
Southee's demotion to 12th man was overshadowed by New Zealand's loss of captain Kane Williamson – but it was the selection bombshell that surprised cricket commentators the most outof the five changes made to the Black Caps XI.
New Zealand initially claimed Southee was dropped as a result of load management but later clarified the selectors made a call to play Matt Henry ahead of him because Henry was fresher.
"He knows his body really well, he's played a lot of tests and a lot of cricket, he knows how to manage it quite well – he was available."
However, McCullum was stunned by the decision, suggesting the Kiwis' explanation doesn't stand up, and left him "staggered".
McCullum also pointed out that New Zealand players have two weeks off after the Sydney test – so it doesn't make sense for New Zealand to rest anyone for the final test of their Australian campaign.
"If you look over the last 24 months, Tim Southee's been a standout bowler in world cricket, not just in the New Zealand side," McCullum told SEN Radio.
"It staggered me a little bit, but they've obviously made the decision for a reason. It can't be because of workload because they've got two weeks off after this anyway. It's an interesting decision to make.
"That (fast bowling) was not the area that was broken. That was sort of one of the areas that was going OK. The only reason he was maybe lacking penetration with the seamers outside of Wagner is that they were having to bowl a lot of the spin overs that Mitchell Santner wasn't able to operate to. It seems a little odd to me."
Tim Southee looks on in his role as sub-fielder. Photo / Getty
Southee shone in the first test with nine wickets and a heavy workload after the loss of Lockie Ferguson to injury on day one, and was unlucky early in the MCG test before fading later, ending with three wickets for 147 runs.
However, even given his hefty workload – bowling 99.4 overs in the two tests – it was still a surprise to see him left on sub fielding duties, at the expense of Matt Henry and his test bowling average of 48.
"How can that be right that Tim Southee is out there fielding in the 12th over of the game, yet he's not playing in the test match?" Michael Vaughan added on Fox Cricket, calling the decision "bizarre".
"I'm absolutely staggered Southee is not playing," Vaughan said.
"Twelve wickets at 26 a piece in the series. It can't be right that you're resting Tim Southee in a game against Australia at the SCG.
"When you think of the chaos that's gone through New Zealand over the course of the last 48 hours, surely if there's a senior player who is fit and he's bowling well, which he has done, he has to have played in this game – probably as captain as well."
