New Zealand's Neil Wagner and Ross Taylor. 2017 Photo: PHOTOSPORT
Black Caps legend Ross Taylor says he can't help but feel that Neil Wagner was forced to retire.
Wagner announced his retirement last week after being told he wouldn't be a part of the Test series against Australia.
Taylor, who played many tests with Wagner, has told ESPN's Around The Wicket podcast that the decision feels "forced".
Photo: PHOTOSPORT
Taylor was asked about Wagner putting a finger-on-the-mouth celebration after dismissing a South African batsman in his final Test appearance and a visual of him showing someone the middle finger as the team got in a huddle to celebrate another wicket.
"I think it all makes sense a little bit now. There's no sugarcoating it: I think it's a forced retirement," Taylor told the podcast.
"If you listen to Wagner's press conference, he was retiring, but it was after this last Test match [against Australia]. So he did make himself available."
Neil Wagner of New Zealand appeals Photo: PHOTOSPORT
Will O'Rourke's unavailability for the second test against Australia forced many to suggest that Wagner should have been recalled. However the Black Caps selectors decided to pick Wellington speedster Ben Sears instead.
"And to see that he isn't selected... I think you do need to plan for the future, but a one-off Test against Australia in a must-win situation, I wouldn't be looking much further than Neil Wagner.
"I'm sure the Australian batters are sleeping easy that he's not in the side," said Taylor, the only New Zealander to play 100 international games in all three formats of the game.
Former Australian captain Aaron Finch, also on the podcast, said Wagner would have likely stopped Australia from posting as big a total as they did in their first innings at the Basin Reserve, which laid down the platform for their 172-run win.
"I couldn't believe Neil Wagner wasn't in the XI. I just genuinely thought that he must have been out through a niggle," Finch said. "The success he's had against Australia, particularly [against] Steven Smith over a period of time, you can guarantee that the last wicket partnership wouldn't have happened if Wagner was there.