Seamer Tim Southee will be eager to continue a fine stretch of form, when New Zealand’s second Test against Sri Lanka gets underway in Christchurch on Wednesday.

Southee clinched eight wickets in the series opener, which ended in a rain-affected draw.

He has taken 28 wickets at an average of 24.4 at the Hagley Oval – the venue for the series decider.

‘There’s obviously a little bit in there for pace bowlers and I’ve been fortunate enough over the past how many tests to get a little bit out of it,’ Southee told Stuff.

‘It’s about hanging in there for as long as you can with the ball. It’s a ground where you can get your rewards later in the day or in clumps at certain stages throughout the day.’

The home side were largely thwarted by centurions Angelo Mathews and Kusal Mendis in the first Test in Wellington, where wickets were far and few between on a relatively flat Basin Reserve pitch.

‘It was probably one of the toughest days we’ve had in New Zealand conditions,’ added Southee.

‘We turned up on day four having got those three wickets the night before thinking hopefully if we could stick at it for long enough than it would give us a chance, but a lot of credit has to go to the way Mathews and Mendis stuck at it. They didn’t give us a chance all day.’

Photo: Gallo