Tim Southee enjoying player/coach transition

LONDON (Web Desk) - Tim Southee grinned as his team-mates engulfed him. After two-and-a-half months in England training gear in his role as bowling coach - or, officially, "specialist skills consultant" - he was back in playing kit for Birmingham Phoenix. More pertinently, he had just cleaned up Trent Rockets' Joe Root with the first ball he had bowled to him, which crashed into his leg stump.

It was a wicket that epitomised cricket's gig economy. Southee, 36, retired from Test cricket after New Zealand's home series against England last year and is still working out his next steps. He spent the start of the year at the ILT20 in the UAE, and is now juggling franchise contracts with his first steps into coaching in an arrangement he describes as "the best of both worlds".

It led to the unusual sight of Southee bowling long spells in the nets to England's batters during their recent series against India to prepare himself physically. "A few opportunities presented themselves in the nets, especially the day before a game where bowlers don't bowl a lot," he explains. "I had to get through some overs at some stage, having not played since January."

The Hundred has been a challenge for him, with three expensive wickets in five appearances compared to 14 cheap ones in nine games last season. But he has enjoyed the "Kiwi flavour" at Phoenix, with head coach Daniel Vettori recruiting Southee's long-term new-ball partner Trent Boult for the 2025 season, joining Adam Milne in an all-New Zealand fast-bowling attack.

As the Hundred started, New Zealand's next generation of fast bowlers were spearheading a dominant 2-0 Test series win in Zimbabwe, and Southee has helped to oversee a similar transition with England's seamers in the world after James Anderson and Stuart Broad. Their depth and resilience was tested in the 2-2 draw with India, but Southee was impressed.

"There's a lot to be excited about," he says. "You've got to also realise that the guys like Brydon Carse, Gus Atkinson and Josh Tongue, they're very new to Test cricket still. Someone like Brydon Carse feels like he's played a lot of cricket - he has, across three formats in the last 12 months - but he's still very, very new, very raw in his Test career.

"Gus Atkinson has achieved so much in his first 10 [13] Test matches: a 10-for, a hundred, a hat-trick… Josh Tongue as well, you see how exciting he is when he gets it right: he's got pace, bounce, skills. Combine that with the way that Ben Stokes is bowling… and throw in the likes of Mark Wood, Jofra Archer. It's pretty hard not to get excited about that group of bowlers."

He was particularly impressed by Carse's gruntwork, believing he bowled much better than a series haul of nine wickets at 60.88 might suggest. "He didn't have a lot of success on some pretty tough surfaces… But [I loved] the way that he kept coming, his attitude towards it, his ability to reach 90mph at his peak but also operate in a pretty skilful way."

Southee believes that the dramatic final day of the series at The Oval will make England "a little bit hungrier" when they return to Test cricket in three months' time: "It was a disappointing way to finish, but there's still plenty of good things to take out of the series." Does he believe they have the resources to take 20 wickets regularly in the Ashes this winter? "Yeah, I certainly do."

Clearly, Stokes' recovery from his latest injury - a torn shoulder muscle - will be a key determinant. "He put a lot of hard work in to get himself back for such a big series… The more he does it, the more he believes in his body and knows that he can do extraordinary things… For him to have an impact with the ball is massive for the side. Hopefully, that can continue."

Incredibly, after a Test career spanning 17 years, this was the longest series that Southee had been involved in. "We looked forward to three-match series," he recalls. "A lot of them were two-match series… It was awesome to experience. This is the first time I've been part of a five-match series, and I loved every second of it."

Southee's role was primarily the result of a long-standing relationship with Brendon McCullum, his long-term New Zealand captain and now England's coach. His short-term contract expired after the fifth Test at The Oval but he is "working through" the prospect of renewing down the line: "There's a couple of leagues I'm still playing in, but this is an opportunity that I've loved."

He has been a long way from his home in Hamilton. His family visited for four weeks during the India series - "to escape the winter back home and enjoy what's been a lovely summer over here" - but he has spent much of the summer racking up hotel loyalty points. "I'm used to living out of a suitcase. That's nothing too new to me."

Southee is unlikely to be involved in England's Ashes staff - he is due to return to the ILT20, which clashes - but has caught the coaching bug. "It's probably come a little bit quicker than I would've expected… It's a game I love and a game that has given me so much. If I'm able to give back and help other people enjoy the game as much as I did, then hopefully there's that opportunity there."

But more immediately, he has another head-to-head with Root to worry about next week. "Sharing a dressing room with the English guys, and getting to know them, makes playing against them slightly different… He's such a great player: any time you get him out, it's always a nice feeling. Nothing's been said backwards and forwards. We'll wait for the rematch."

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