Timothy Grant Southee ONZM, also known as “The Sexy Camel” is a New Zealand former international cricketer who has captained national team in all formats of the game. He is a right-arm medium-fast bowler and a hard-hitting lower order batsman. He is the third New Zealand bowler to take 300 Test wickets. SOUTHEE burst upon the international scene in great style. He was still only 19, with only one T20I cap behind him, and fresh from a Player-of-the-Tournament performance at the 2008 Under-19 World Cup when he was handed a Test debut against England in Napier. Southee responded with 5 for 55 before smashing 77 off 40 balls in the second innings.

Southee was born in Whangarei, New Zealand, and grew up in Northland. He was educated at Whangarei Boys' High School and King's College, Auckland. While at school, he excelled at both cricket and rugby, playing representative rugby for the Auckland Secondary School and Northern Region teams.

Southee played under-19 cricket for New Zealand from 2006 to 2009. His under-19 career included 13 one-day matches – 10 at ICC Under-19 World Cups – and a drawn three-match Youth Test series against India in early 2007. His last youth appearance was at the 2008 ICC Under-19 Cricket World Cup, where he was player of the tournament. Southee was 17 years old when he debuted in the 2006 ICC Under-19 World Cup. He ended with 5 wickets at an average of 38.8, and 113 runs at 22.6. New Zealand lost the Plate Final to Nepal.

By the time Southee appeared at his second ICC Under-19 World Cup, in Malaysia in 2008, he had already played two full Twenty20 internationals for New Zealand. His bowling saw him named the player of the tournament. He took 5/11 in New Zealand's first match, against Zimbabwe, and went on to take 17 wickets in five matches, averaging only 6.64 and conceding only 2.52 runs an over. Southee's last under-19 appearance was New Zealand's semi-final loss to eventual champions India, a rain-affected match in which he took 4/29. Within a month, Southee played in his debut test match. The youth squads he played in included other future internationals Kane Williamson, Martin Guptill, Trent Boult, Corey Anderson, Hamish Rutherford, and Hamish Bennett.

Southee began his international career as one of the youngest ever to feature for New Zealand. He has become a regular member of the international side in all three formats – Twenty20, one-day internationals, and test matches. England were still touring New Zealand when Southee returned home from the 2008 Under-19 World Cup as player of the tournament. The one-day series was over but the three-match test was about to begin. When injury ruled Kyle Mills out of the third Test match, in Napier, Southee was added to the squad and made his Test match debut on 22 March 2008. Aged only 19 years and 102 days, he was New Zealand's seventh-youngest test debutant.

He had an immediate impact in the first day, dismissing Michael Vaughan and Andrew Strauss in his second and third overs, and then later claiming the wicket of Kevin Pietersen. On the second day he took two more wickets and completed a debut five-wicket haul, finishing with 5–55. During New Zealand's second innings, chasing 553, Southee hit New Zealand's fastest half-century in 29 balls. His innings, which ended on 77* from just 40 balls, included nine sixes and four fours. This was New Zealand's last home match of the summer.

His rise was reflected in his selection for his first full international tour, to England, Ireland and Scotland from May to July. He played a single test match at Lord's, taking 0/59 in a drawn game, and seven one-day internationals. Through the 2008/09 summer Southee competed for a place in the New Zealand team with more experienced bowlers like Iain O'Brien and Ian Butler. Game-changing performances like the previous summer's five-wicket bags eluded him, though he played 19 matches for his country. New Zealand's summer began with a short tour to Australia for two test matches. Southee took a combined 5/225 in those matches, going wicketless in the second. Southee wasn't picked to play any full international cricket through the southern winter, which included the 2009 ICC Champions Trophy and 2009 ICC World Twenty20.

After missing the 2009 winter season Southee became a regular selection for New Zealand in the 2009/10 summer, playing 18 of the season's 22 international matches against Pakistan, Bangladesh and Australia. He also played ten HRV Cup matches for Northern Districts in January. With bowler Daryl Tuffey unavailable due to a broken hand, Southee regained a place in the New Zealand side that travelled to Abu Dhabi and Dubai to play three ODIs and two Twenty20s against Pakistan. Before the series captain and stand-in coach Daniel Vettori said he hoped that Southee could "cement his place" in the side. Vettori picked him for all five matches, across which he took seven wickets.

Australia's tour included two Twenty20s, five ODIs and two tests. Southee played all of these matches except the first Twenty20. His series began slowly, with only two wickets in his first five games. But in the last ODI he took 4/36 and was man of the match in a 51-run victory (the match was a dead rubber). Building up to the 2011 World Cup, New Zealand's northern tours in 2010 focused on short forms of cricket. Southee was a squad member for every series of the season, playing in 14 of these 24 matches.

With the 2011 ICC World Cup starting in February, New Zealand only hosted one tour for the summer. Pakistan visited for three Twenty20s, two tests and six ODIs. Southee only missed one ODI, playing all the other matches. He became the third bowler (and second New Zealander) to take a hat-trick in a Twenty20 international, and also took his first ODI five-wicket bag. He ended with 5/18 in four overs – at the time his best figures in Twenty20 internationals. New Zealand won the match. Southee also took consecutive wickets in the second match, finishing with 2/26.

Southee was the third-highest wicket-taker at the 2011 World Cup, hosted by India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. He was named by the ICC as the 12th man, and only New Zealander, in the "team of the tournament" having finished with 18 wickets at 17.33. Southee's best figures came in New Zealand's win against eventual semi-finalists Pakistan. He took 3/25, with each dismissed batsman playing in Pakistan's top five. He took wickets in all of New Zealand's matches, including three each against Kenya, Zimbabwe and Sri Lanka twice – in the group stages and in the first semi-final. New Zealand ended the tournament as beaten semi-finalists.

Southee had been passed over at the 2011 IPL player auction in January, but shortly after New Zealand were eliminated from the World Cup his form led to the Chennai Super Kings signing him for the IPL's 2011 season. Southee gave up the chance to join English county Essex for their domestic summer, but he did join them for the 2011 Friends Life T20 after the IPL. During a victory over Glamorgan, Southee took 6/16 including a hat-trick, establishing the record for best bowling figures for Essex in a Twenty20.

On the tour to West Indies there were 2 T20Is, 5 ODIs and 2 tests. On a difficult tour NZ won only 1 ODI, losing all the other internationals. In the 5-match ODI series Southee was top NZ wicket-taker with 10. Partnering Neil Wagner and Doug Bracewell, Trent Boult and Southee were called up for the 2nd test at Sabina Park and took 4 and 3 wickets respectively. Southee took 12 wickets at an average just under 14. By the start of the 2012/13 summer, national captain Brendon McCullum recognised Southee as "our number 1 bowler", an assessment that held even as New Zealand toured South Africa in December and January without Southee, who stayed behind for the birth of his first child and then injured his thumb in a domestic match.

In May 2013, New Zealand travelled to England to play two further test matches. Southee lead the New Zealand attack, bowling superbly to take a career best 10 wickets in the first test at Lord's (becoming the first New Zealander since Dion Nash to do so). He also bowled well in the second test at Headingley, and was widely regarded as unfortunate to finish with just 2 wickets. In the first half of 2014, Southee continued to establish himself as one of the best new ball bowlers in the world, leading New Zealand to a test series victory over a touring Indian side with 11 wickets in a series of consistent performances. He followed this by once again leading the New Zealand bowlers in their tour of the West Indies. Southee again took 11 wickets as New Zealand won their first away series against major opposition in 12 years. By the end of the tour, Southee had risen to number 6 in the ICC world bowling rankings. For his performances in 2014, he was named in the World Test XI by ICC.

In the 2015 Cricket World Cup group match in Wellington, he took his career best bowling figures of 7/33 against England. The opponents were bowled out for 123 and the Black Caps won by 8 wickets with Southee being named Man of the Match. In August 2019, in the series against Sri Lanka, Southee became the fourth bowler for New Zealand to take 250 wickets in Test cricket. In August 2019, Southee equaled the tally of sixes by the legend Sachin Tendulkar in test cricket with 69 sixes. On 29 December 2020, in the First Test of the series against Pakistan, Southee became the Third bowler for New Zealand to take 300 wickets in Test cricket.

In November 2022, during India tour of New Zealand, Southee claimed his second hat-trick in T20Is and joined Sri Lankan bowling legend Lasith Malinga in an elite list of T20I bowlers who have taken more than one hat-trick in the shortest format of the game. In February 2023, Tim Southee made history by becoming the first player from New Zealand to reach 700 international wickets. He achieved this unprecedented milestone during the 2nd Test of England's tour of New Zealand, 2023, when he dismissed Ben Duckett.

In November 2024, Southee announced his retirement from Test cricket at the end of the upcoming series against England. Southee played all 3 matches in the series, picking up 6 wickets to take him to 391 in Tests. His final tally is the second-highest for New Zealand in the format, behind Sir Richard Hadlee (431 wickets) and the eleventh-highest by any pace bowler. Southee was named T20I captain for the first T20I against West Indies.

Southee was named the full time Blackcaps Test captain in December 2022 after the resignation of Kane Williamson from the role. In his first series as captain, he would lead New Zealand to a 0-0 draw against Pakistan. In New Zealand's first Test series at home following his appointment, the Blackcaps would split the honours with England in a two-Test series. On 28 February 2023, after defeat in the first Test, New Zealand won against England by a single run, having earlier been asked to follow-on. They became just the second team, after the West Indies, to win a Test match by this margin and the fourth team to win after following-on. Southee stood down as New Zealand Test team captain in October 2024, after a 2-0 defeat against Sri Lanka at Galle.

Southee has taken 20 five-wicket hauls in international cricket. He took his first on his Test debut, against England at McLean Park, Napier in 2008, becoming the sixth New Zealander to take a five-wicket haul on Test debut, taking figures of 5/55 in the first innings. His best innings figures in Tests are 7/64, taken against India at Bangalore in 2012. His best ODI figures are the 7/33 he took against England during the 2015 Cricket World Cup.[142][143] His best figures in a T20I are 5/18, taken against Pakistan in 2010.

In the 2025 King’s Birthday Honours, Southee was appointed an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit, for services to cricket.