NZ vs AUS | Twitter awes at Wellington's heartwarming farewell reception for retiring hero Neil Wagner

SportsCafe Desk

BySportsCafe Desk, SportsCafe Editor

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New Zealand may not be the most cricket-fanatic nation in the world but the cohort that does love the sport admire their icons like few others. The overwhelming endearment manifested in a wholesomely beautiful way in Wellington on Thursday with retirement-bound Neil Wagner at the receiving end.

The first day of a highly anticipated Test series between New Zealand and Australia lived up to the hype in Wellington as both teams kept trading blows in the latter's struggle to put up a par total on a fresh green deck. However, the conversation ahead of the fixture was focused as much on the players involved as on the one that would not end up playing, namely Neil Wagner.

The left-arm quick had announced his retirement in tears on the eve of the series after learning he wasn't in the playing XI, causing congratulations and commiserations to flow his way from all corners of the globe. Wagner had put together an iconic 64-Test career where he garnered a reputation like no other for his ability to manufacture wickets with sweet chin music and was a crucial cog of the Kiwi's triumphant run in the maiden World Test Championship. Naturally, he enjoyed a cult status in the islands Down Under which became apparent in an overwhelming way at the Basin Reserve on Thursday.

Wagner walked onto the field in the 69th over of the game as a substitute fielder, perhaps donning the all-whites for the last time in his career, and the field immediately echoed with a huge round of applause. The ovation seemed to follow wherever Wagner went around the boundary with ardent fans raising banners and cutouts of the 37-year-old to celebrate a wonderful career. Wagner seemed to have a permanent smile plastered to his face while he acknowledged the love and tried to repay it in kind by going around the ropes signing autographs. The wholesome moment not only served as a deserving farewell for Wagner but allowed Twitterati to pout out its emotions as well.

What a reception!

Giving everything

Visual treat

Even after retirement

Winning hearts

What a commitment!

Admirable

Standing ovation for him

That commitment

Beacause of the rule

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