Cricket-New Zealand's Southee happy with 'tough challenge' in UAE

Cricket - Third Test - England v New Zealand - Yorkshire Cricket Ground, Leeds, Britain - June 27, 2022 England's Jonny Bairstow plays a shot off the bowling of New Zealand's Tim Southee Action Images via Reuters/Lee Smith

DUBAI (Reuters) - New Zealand captain Tim Southee is happy with the tough challenge his team faced in the United Arab Emirates before eking out a 2-1 series victory on Sunday.

The tourists, missing several frontline players, escaped to victory in the opener but were stunned in the second T20 match with UAE registering their first win against New Zealand in any format.