"Last 17 Years...": New Zealand Great Tim Southee Bids Emotional Goodbye To Cricket After Retirement

Following a win by 423 runs in his farewell Test, New Zealand pacer Tim Southee thanked everyone from his friends, family and teammates who were a part of his journey for over 17 years and said that he looks forward to watching the sport as a fan now. It was a memorable final international outing for Southee. Not only Kiwis crushed England by 423 runs while defending 658 runs, Southee tonked three sixes during a solid cameo of 23 runs in the first innings, but still fell two short of 100 Test sixes. In the final innings, he got the wickets of Ben Duckett and Jacob Bethell.

During the post-match presentation, Southee said, "Congratulations England on a series win. As always, played in great spirit and a side I have enjoyed playing over the years. Taking this opportunity to thank a few people. First New Zealand Cricket, for everything you have done over the last 17 years. Much appreciated. Family. They are the ones there for the ride through the ups and downs. Teammates - made the ride so enjoyable, and support staff as well. Would like to thank the fans. Always great to turn out in front of numbers, and this week's been pretty special at Seddon Park to play in front of great crowds. Thank you. Look forward to watching on as a fan. All the best boys."

Southee walks away from the game with 776 international wickets, the most by any Kiwi bowler across all formats. Southee secured 391 Test wickets, the second-most by any NZ bowler, behind Richard Hadlee (431 scalps). He is the leading wicket-taker in T20Is with 164 wickets, the most by any bowler. With 221 ODI wickets, he also is the third-highest wicket-taker in ODIs for Kiwis, behind Kyle Mills (240 wickets) and Daniel Vettori (297 wickets).

He was also a capable