As Tom Latham is set to play his 100th ODI on March 20, New Zealand’s stand-in captain was hopeful of a good show from the new-look team in the upcoming three-match One Day International (ODI) series against Bangladesh starting Saturday at University Oval in Dunedin.
The 28-year-old will captain the Black Caps against Bangladesh in the absence of injured Kane Williamson, who has amassed more than 6000 runs in ODIs, and it will be a huge void to fill in the upcoming ODI series, but he feels Devon Conway has the qualities do the job for the hosts.
Conway – a consistent performer in domestic cricket across the formats made his T20I debut for New Zealand against Australia in March 2020 and he is now set to make his ODI debut at home against Bangladesh. Will Young and Daryl Mitchell are also expected to make their ODI debuts against the Tigers.
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Latham said on the eve of the first ODI, “The last few seasons [Conway] has scored a truckload of runs in all formats for Wellington. We've seen when he's come into the side he's made every post a winner in terms of the T20 games. He's been in the Test group as well and he will get his opportunity tomorrow. I'm sure he'll be looking forward to showing the form he's had over the last couple of years, but also what he's shown for the T20 side.”
The stand-in skipper further added, “It's a great opportunity for this group. A slightly different group with a few new faces in this side. We've played some really good cricket this year, red ball and white ball, so hoping that will continue.”
Meanwhile, Latham has been regular in the ODI format but didn't play much T20I cricket and he is now working on his white-ball game in order to stake a claim for a place in the New Zealand squad for the forthcoming ICC T20 World Cup 2021 to be held in India later this year.
The left-hander, who played only 13 T20Is so far, continued: “I'd love to play T20 cricket. I haven't played a huge amount of T20 cricket for Canterbury over the past couple of years. Being injured this year was a bit disappointing but that's cricket. At the moment I'm focused on what I have to do with the one-day side and if that happens with the T20 side then I'd love the opportunity to play. To play the amount of international cricket I have I've probably gained the experience in situations.”
He signed off by saying, “My role has been slightly different in this side over the past three or four years. Being able to adapt in different situations is the biggest thing I've had to learn and .... I'm still continuing to learn ... identifying situations, especially in the one-day format, of what you need to do. And the power game, when that needs to come out. It's always a work-on, it's always something that you are trying to improve, so hopefully, that can keep getting better too.”
New Zealand squad: Tom Latham (C & WK), Martin Guptill, Ross Taylor, Trent Boult, James Neesham, Mitchell Santner, Devon Conway, Matt Henry, Kyle Jamieson, Daryl Mitchell, Henry Nicholls, Tim Southee, Will Young
(With Cricbuzz Inputs)
