Top 5 cricketing disappointments of 2017

3. Tim Southee

The last time Tim Southee took a four-for in an ODI was in 2015

17 wickets at 43.35 in 14 ODIs

Tim Southee has formed a potent new ball pair along with Trent Boult and has tasted great success across formats in the last few years. With the rest of New Zealand’s bowlers lacking in experience, consistency from Boult and Southee is something which their team highly banks upon. But the latter has had a year to forget. Having played 14 ODIs in 2017, the best that Southee could manage was a haul of 3/45 in the Champions Trophy game against Bangladesh.

He repeatedly erred in line and length, often being punished for bowling either too short or too full. As a result, an unimpressive economy rate of 5.88 and a high strike rate of 44.24 defined the year for Southee. The last time he took four wickets in an innings was way back in 2015, when a career-best haul of 7/33 destroyed England in a World Cup encounter at Wellington.