Neil Wagner: 'I pride myself in playing a role when things are tough'
The fast bowler talks about his evolution as a front-line quick for New Zealand, his legendary spell at the Bay Oval, and looks ahead to the WTC final
Yeah, it's a tough one. [It was] sort of in the moment and I guess adrenaline and playing for the team - wearing the black cap is the ultimate drive and it obviously motivates you to go through that. It's [also] just everyone else around you encouraging you to do something like that, and trying to bite through as much pain as I could to try and deliver a job. Luckily it came off.
Yeah, it wasn't nice (laughs). But it's just one of those things. You have to try and dig deep and find a way. Test cricket and playing for New Zealand means a lot to me, so I wanted to be out there. We don't get too many opportunities or too many Test matches sometimes - we had only four Tests that home summer. So, for me, every opportunity is pretty special, and I just wanted to be out there with the lads, give it my all, and try and find a way to contribute. In the end, it was all worth it.
Yeah, I don't like needles (laughs). It was one of those things where you had to close your eyes and just sort of deal with it.
It was one of those moments where you try to not think about it too much and just get through it. But I felt like the action was changing to overcompensate for the foot a little bit. I started feeling that my back and shoulder were getting a bit sore and mentally it was sort of draining when it got to the back end of that Test - when the game finished, everything fell off the shoulders a little bit and felt a little bit like, "Yeah, it's over now. I'm done with it." You switch off and straightaway start feeling the pain.
Yeah, I don't like the way I sometimes celebrate (laughs). It just sort of comes out. I remember seeing some footage, and poor Mitchell Santner probably tried to come in for a high five, and I went quite hard there. I think it's maybe letting off the steam, and a bit of frustration comes out bowling through the pain and trying to get a wicket, and finally when you do, it's a bit of a relief. Looking back afterwards it's not the nicest sight. I don't like the sight of my veins popping and things like that. But it's the passion that I play with and the pride I take [in my performance]. The boys give me a bit of stick and we do have a couple of laughs about it as well.
I think people who know me off the field know exactly who I am and how I am. Emotions do come out sometimes - I wear them on my sleeve - but I remember what it was like when I was a kid standing on the side of the field and asking for an autograph or wanting to talk to a player. To give that little back, it goes a long way in getting kids to fall in love with the game and getting them to see the way I saw it when I was a kid growing up. People off the field know me as a friendly guy who is a lot more approachable than the guy who is celebrating after a wicket, that's for sure (laughs).
He's a top man and will be sorely missed in this team. He's the glue and the gel of the team and has been around for a long time now. I've always appreciated his honesty. He's one of the guys who puts me back in line if need be, but will also encourage you and pick you up on the tough days. He's always been there for me, whether for plans or ideas. No matter how tired he is, he will sprint from the keeping side, run all the way to your mark to have a chat with you with a couple of plans. He's been a class performer for this team and he's always seen to be the guy that has done the nitty-gritty sort of stuff well and encourages people like myself and everyone around the team.
Test cricket is tough and it's never easy playing in different parts of the world, where it can be challenging. You get to test your skills and ability against the best players in the toughest situations. That's where you want to stand up and make some sort of impact, and I pride myself in playing a role when things are tough. I want to put my hand up and have the ball in my hand.
We're lucky to have a trainer like Chris Donaldson, who has been a huge part of the team, and not just the bowling unit. I've had him from my first year starting at Otago - he was our fitness trainer then and he later joined the Black Caps. Ever since I've started working with him since I moved over to New Zealand, he has been monumental in my success. The way he encourages us to train really hard and do the hard yards - you've got to motivate yourself on some cold winter days to get up and go to the gym and do some running outdoors. He has been a huge part of it all and obviously [I spend] a lot of time in the gym, running and doing fitness stuff. Bowling-wise as well, as a group we push each other to do the hard work. So I guess a huge thanks goes to those guys and we keep feeding and bouncing ideas off each other.
We all do those runs. It's one of our running sessions and it's one that I enjoy the most. I sort of feel like it gets me going and I get a good rhythm out of that. We do have various other running sessions that we do.
No, I'm definitely not. I like to try and push myself to be there. I think Trent [Boult], Mitchell Santner, Henry Nicholls are the fastest guys and I try to keep up. Lockie Ferguson is a pretty good runner as well. But, yeah, I can't say that I'm one of the fastest and strongest around, but I do have goals that I know I have achieved through the years and I try to improve on them or stay around the same.
Yeah, quite a few of us stay in the same area in Mount Maunganui, so it makes things easier, training-wise. Being able to train with Colin, who is also coming back from injury, has been quite beneficial and it's nice to hit the ground running. We had some amazing facilities at the Bay Oval and to get some overs under the belt in the Plunket Shield was quite beneficial for me as well. To get some bowling fitness in that sense - it's the first time in my career that I've been away for ten weeks after an injury. It was a bit of a change, but yeah, it was nice to get some overs and play for Northern Districts at that time and get some rhythm leading into these three Test matches [in England].
Yeah, I obviously started as a swing bowler, as someone who pitched it up a lot more than I do now or what it looks like in Test cricket. It still comes down to the conditions and what's in front of me and what the day requires. In New Zealand, the wickets tend to flatten out quite quickly, and if the ball doesn't swing, I obviously try to bang it in and get different modes of dismissal or try and create some pressure with dot balls by doing that. Through the years, playing more cricket and getting more experience and sort of knowing that we have two of the best swing bowlers in the world in Tim [Southee] and Trent... Rather than trying to bowl the same as they do or trying to compete with them, for me it was about trying and finding a different method or a way that's going to make them and us effective as a bowling unit. It sort of came off and worked out at that time, and I just ended up going with it.
I do play a bit of white-ball cricket for Northern Districts. And obviously, in white-ball cricket you've got to refer to the yorkers and slower balls for a few bits and pieces of that. Playing that has been nice for staying fresh and mentally training different skills and things you need to do. Sometimes they can come in handy in Test cricket too, and it makes the short ball more effective when you can swing the ball upfront, and to have a slower ball up the sleeve as well.
We've been lucky to have quality bowlers over the years now. Matt Henry, Doug Bracewell, Mitchell Santner, Colin de Grandhomme and Daryl Mitchell - everybody has chipped in when they needed to. That's the beauty of this team - when you come in, you know your role. Jamo has come in and seamlessly fit into the group. He has been nice and level-headed and wanting to learn. And he has played some amazing cricket. So his confidence will only grow and get better as he goes on in his career. It will be exciting to see where he can take it to. He has all the attributes and it's amazing to see how he has fit into the bowling group.
I don't think it has, to be fair. Since I started, with guys like Mitchell McClenaghan who has played for New Zealand and now the names you've mentioned, there has been a healthy group of fast bowlers in New Zealand for a number of years. The good thing about it is that it keeps you working hard on your game to be able to get selected or play. These other guys will push you, which is pretty good, and it's a healthy place for New Zealand cricket to be in. Sometimes it can be a coach's or selector's nightmare, but it's a really good problem to have. To be able to pick through various groups of fast bowlers and to be able to rotate them as well… That sort of thing is also good if there are injuries or something like that - somebody can come in and fill those boots.
Yeah, it is like a World Cup final for me. The biggest disappointment, I guess, in my career is that I've never really played a white-ball game for New Zealand or never been able to crack into the T20 or the one-day game. That ship has probably sailed now and I don't think the opportunity will ever come. For me now, it's about putting all my focus and energy into Test cricket and to be able to play in a World Test Championship final is like a World Cup for me.
Deivarayan Muthu is a sub-editor at ESPNcricinfo