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Speaker 1: You're listening to the Weekend Sport podcast with Jason Fine

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Speaker 1: from Newstalk ZEDB.

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Speaker 2: Reading between the lines of Tom Latham's diplomacy there, it's

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Speaker 2: clear he was disappointed to be overlooked the first time

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Speaker 2: when came Williamson relinquished the Test captaincy the back end

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Speaker 2: of twenty twenty two. I think most people thought Tom

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Speaker 2: Latham was the obvious choice, having done it before and

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Speaker 2: being a guy who in all conditions, in all countries

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Speaker 2: and every Test match is pretty much a first choice player.

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Speaker 2: If he's Fitty plays Tom Latham, he's become one of

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Speaker 2: our best Test openers. And yes he's gone through a

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Speaker 2: little bit of a rocky time recently with the bat

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Speaker 2: as well, but I think the fact remains that he

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Speaker 2: is part of our best Test eleven. The change of

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Speaker 2: testaver had to happen, obviously, and whether it was the

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Speaker 2: captain c that affected his performances or not, and I

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Speaker 2: actually think it did play a big part. The fact

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Speaker 2: is Tim Soudy isn't doing enough to guarantee his place

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Speaker 2: in the team and that becomes a real issue when

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Speaker 2: you are captain, even more so on the subcontinent. And

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Speaker 2: I've said this a lot of times in the last

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Speaker 2: couple of weeks. More often than not, you play just

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Speaker 2: two seamers in Test matches in the Subcontinent, your quickest

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Speaker 2: and your best, and Tim Soudy isn't either of those

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Speaker 2: two things. At the moment. The o mission of Matt

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Speaker 2: Henry can only be explained by Tim Southey being captain,

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Speaker 2: because the last time Matt Henry bold and Test cricket

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Speaker 2: was against Australia at the end of our home summer.

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Speaker 2: He took five for seventy and three for thirty six

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Speaker 2: on the first Test, seven for sixty seven and two

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Speaker 2: for ninety four in the second, seventeen wickets at fifteen's

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Speaker 2: easily our best bowler and probably the best across both

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Speaker 2: sides in the series. Tim Soudy four wickets in those

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Speaker 2: two Tests at an average of sixty one, and Matt

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Speaker 2: Henry also contributed some handy runs, averaging over twenty five

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Speaker 2: Tim Southy eight and a half. But it was Matt

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Speaker 2: Henry who was left out of the Sri Lankan Tests

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Speaker 2: because Tim Southy was captain. Imagine taking seven for sixty

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Speaker 2: seven against Australia and then being dropped for the next Test,

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Speaker 2: albeit in very different conditions. Well, thankfully that will be

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Speaker 2: one of the first things put right. You'd have to

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Speaker 2: think by this captaincy change, it'll ensure that Matt Henry

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Speaker 2: plays against India. The question now is whether Tim Southy

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Speaker 2: even goes on that tour, and a large part of

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Speaker 2: me thinks he shouldn't. He should stay back here, get

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Speaker 2: out of the limelight, freshen up and get ready to

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Speaker 2: play the three Tests against England before Christmas, because he

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Speaker 2: should definitely play. In those tests. Tim Southey will have

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Speaker 2: a seam heavy attack and he is still part of

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Speaker 2: a four pronged pace attack. Our best four Matt Henry, obviously,

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Speaker 2: Will O'Rourke, Tim Southy and probably Ben Sears. I don't

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Speaker 2: know the current status of Kyle Jamison. Hopefully we'll see

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Speaker 2: him again this summer. But Tim Southey plays those two matches,

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Speaker 2: and I really think that might be quite a good

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Speaker 2: way to bring the curtain down on what has been

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Speaker 2: by every measure, pretty much a terrific career three hundred

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Speaker 2: and eighty two Test wickets. Only Sir Richard Hadley has

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Speaker 2: more than that for us. Wouldn't it be great to

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Speaker 2: see Tim Southey join that very exclusive four hundred Test

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Speaker 2: wicket club. Eighteen more wickets might be a stretch in

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Speaker 2: three Test matches, but who knows. Without having to worry

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Speaker 2: about anything else other than bowling, and on reasonably seem

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Speaker 2: friendly wickets at Hagley the Basin Seddon Park, he could

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Speaker 2: do it. I honestly think relinquishing the captaincy is a

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Speaker 2: good thing for Tim Southy. He is one of our

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Speaker 2: cricketing greats. He deserves to go out on top, and

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Speaker 2: the longer the captain cy saga played out, the more

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Speaker 2: his legacy was being affected. Now he's got a chance

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Speaker 2: for a swan song at home and to enjoy a

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Speaker 2: fitting into a great career.

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Speaker 1: For more from Weekend Sport with j List and Fine,

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Speaker 1: Listen live to news Talks at B weekends from midday

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Speaker 1: or follow the podcast on iHeartRadio