New Zealand legend Ross Taylor has hogged the internet as he recently labelled Neil Wagner’s retirement as a forced decision. Notably, Kiwi seamer Wagner big adieu to the game after he was left out of the first game against Australia. The left-arm seamer got emotional in a press conference and thanked the New Zealand cricket and his fans.
However, Taylor claimed it to be a forced retirement and hinted at issues within the New Zealand cricket board.
Taylor, who retired two years ago, feels that Wagner’s retirement might have been forced, while Aaron Finch, the former Australia white-ball skipper, suggested that there might be some unrest brewing in the New Zealand camp.
During a recent episode of ESPN’s “Around the Wicket” podcast, Australian cricket captain Aaron Finch expressed his confusion over the absence of New Zealand cricketer Neil Wagner from their recent series. He went on to say that if Wagner had been present during the Wellington Test, Australia’s 10th-wicket partnership in the first innings would not have been as successful.
As soon as the host turned to Taylor, he remarked about the forced retirement.
“I think it all makes sense a little bit now. There’s no sugarcoating it: I think it’s a forced retirement. If you listen to Wagner’s press conference, he was retiring, but it was after this last Test match. So he did make himself available.
“And to see that he isn’t selected … I think I do like and you do need to plan for the future, but a one-off Test against Australia in a must-win situation, I wouldn’t be looking much further than Neil Wagner. And I’m sure the Australian batters are sleeping easy that he’s not in the side.”
Finch made a joke regarding the situation in the New Zealand cricket team. He expressed that it was about time that there was some unrest in their camp, as for a long time, they have been teasing the Australian cricket team for always having some issues going on behind the scenes. However, Taylor disregarded Finch’s comments. “The nice guys of cricket not so nice to each other at the moment,” concluded the host.