New Zealand pacer Tim Southee named country's Player of the Year for 2021

Wellington: New Zealand pacer Tim Southee on Thursday won the Sir Richard Hadlee Medal, an honour bestowed on the country’s performer in a calendar year. On the final day of the three-day awards ceremony, Southee shared the podium with Bert Sutcliffe Medal recipient Penny Kinsella; the Test Player of the Year, Devon Conway, and the women’s and men’s Domestic Players of the Year — Nensi Patel, and joint male winners Tom Bruce and Robbie O’Donnell. The 33-year-old Southee, who is representing Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in the 2022 Indian Premier League (IPL), won the award after a stellar 2021 season, both at home and abroad, and in red as well as white-ball cricket. [caption id=“attachment_9155071” align=“alignnone” width=“640”]  File image of Tim Southee. AP[/caption] In the year, he has captured 36 Test wickets at 23.88, including best figures of six for 43 against England at Lord’s and five wickets against India in the victorious ICC World Test Championship final at Southampton. In all, Southee has taken 338 Test wickets, which is just 23 fewer than Daniel Vettori and 93 short of the record-holder the award is named after, Hadlee. “It’s a huge honour to win such a prestigious award,” Southee said, speaking from KKR’s base in Mumbai, according to www.stuff.co.nz.

A special chat between Sir Richard Hadlee and Tim Southee after a virtual presentation of the Sir Richard Hadlee Medal. This is the first time Tim Southee has won New Zealand Cricket's supreme playing award. #ANZNZCAwards pic.twitter.com/tZvauuGZMo

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He added, “Like most cricketers growing up I knew all about the exploits of Sir Richard and it’s certainly pretty humbling to win his award this year. “While the accolades are nice, I think it really just reflects the way we have worked together as a group and played our cricket for a long period of time. “It’s been great to be a part of this period and being able to win games for our country which is something that’s very special,” he said on the occasion.” Read all the Latest News , Trending News , Cricket News , Bollywood News , India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.