{"id":370930,"date":"2024-02-27T00:58:13","date_gmt":"2024-02-27T01:58:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/?p=370930"},"modified":"2024-02-27T03:03:05","modified_gmt":"2024-02-27T03:03:05","slug":"smiths-kiwi-nemesis-retires-days-before-first-test","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/?p=370930","title":{"rendered":"Smith's Kiwi nemesis retires days before first Test"},"content":{"rendered":"

Steve Smith<\/a> will not face off against his old nemesis Neil Wagner<\/a> in the upcoming two-Test series between Australia<\/a> and New Zealand<\/a> after the paceman announced his immediate retirement ahead of the first Test at the Basin Reserve on Thursday.<\/p>\n

Wagner came to the decision after it hit home that he would not be considered for selection in the home side's XI.<\/p>\n

The 37-year-old will stay with the squad for the remainder of the week before being released ahead of the second Test in Christchurch.<\/p>\n

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\"Wagner<\/p>\n

Wagner made his final appearance for New Zealand on Monday night, featuring in a relaxed game during Kiwi Prime Minister Chris Luxon's reception for both teams.<\/p>\n

"It's been an emotional week," Wagner said.<\/p>\n

"It's not easy to step away from something you've given so much to and got so much out of, but it's now time for others to step up and take this team forward.<\/p>\n

"I've enjoyed every single moment of playing Test cricket for the Blackcaps and am proud of everything we've been able to achieve as a team.<\/p>\n

"The friendships and bonds built over my career are what I'll cherish the most and I want to thank everyone who's played a part in where I am today.<\/p>\n

"My teammates have always meant the world to me and all I've ever wanted to do was what was best for the team \u2013 I hope that's the legacy I will leave.<\/p>\n

"I'm looking forward to one final week in camp and will be doing everything I can to help prepare and support the boys."<\/p>\n

The last time the two sides met in the Test arena, Wagner dismissed Smith in all four innings of the first two Tests during the 2019\/20 summer.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Each time the left-arm quick dismissed Smith with short balls, however, Australia still triumphed in three matches to clinch the Trans-Tasman Trophy.<\/p>\n

Smith, who was coming off \ufeffa booming 2019 Ashes series in which he made 774 runs at an average of 110, was subdued as Wagner finished with figures of 4-27.<\/p>\n

Wagner's decision comes as a surprise with Australia \ufeffplanning to face 'Wags' as recently as last week.<\/p>\n

Speaking to the Sydney Morning Herald<\/a>, Nathan Lyon spoke of his excitement to watch the Smith vs Wagner rematch.<\/p>\n

"It'll be good fun, I reckon, hopefully it will be good to watch," he said.<\/p>\n

Wagner will finish his 64-Test career fifth on New Zealand's list of all-time wicket-takers with 260 wickets at an average of 27.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Steve Smith will not face off against his old nemesis Neil Wagner in the upcoming two-Test series between Australia and New Zealand after the paceman […]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":370934,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/370930"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=370930"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/370930\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":370939,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/370930\/revisions\/370939"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/370934"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=370930"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=370930"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=370930"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}