“I would love to see New Zealand lift the trophy” - Tim Southee ahead of Champions Trophy

Former New Zealand seamer Tim Southee has stated that the Blackcaps national team can excel in the upcoming ICC Champions Trophy 2025 and go on to win the trophy in the showpiece event, scheduled to start on February 19 in Pakistan and Dubai.

Notably, New Zealand will begin their Champions Trophy campaign against defending champions and hosts Pakistan on the starting day of the campaign on Wednesday at the National Stadium in Karachi.

“If you look at the track record of New Zealand in ICC events, they are always there or thereabouts. In a tournament like the Champions Trophy, if you get on a bit of a roll, anything can happen. I’d love to see the Blackcaps there and hopefully lifting the trophy at the end,” Tim Southee told the ICC.

New Zealand will enter the marquee event on the back of the tri-series victory after defeating Pakistan by five wickets in the final on Friday. Interestingly, these two sides will meet again on the first day of the marquee tournament. 

Furthermore, Southee also hailed the young pacer Will O’Rourke, who claimed a four-wicket haul in the ODI tri-series final.

“Will O’Rourke, in the Test game we’ve seen what he can do. He’s still so young but he’s got the all the attributes that are going to set him up to have a lot of success in international cricket. I’m looking forward to watching him in his first ICC event,” he added.

“Will is still learning, and the Tri-Nation Series – being exposed to those conditions – will be great for him. His game is far from finished but I’m sure he’ll be a massive asset to New Zealand cricket across all three formats for a long time to come,” Southee asserted.

New Zealand Squad for the ICC Champions Trophy 2025:

Mitchell Santner (c), Michael Bracewell, Mark Chapman, Devon Conway, Lockie Ferguson, Matt Henry, Tom Latham, Daryl Mitchell, Will O’Rourke, Glenn Phillips, Rachin Ravindra, Nathan Smith, Kane Williamson, Will Young, Jacob Duffy.

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