New Zealand opener Tom Latham contributed heavily to his team's cause in the opening Test of the two-match series against the West Indies, scoring 86 runs while stitching a 154-run partnership for the second wicket with captain Kane Williamson to put the hosts in a strong position on Day 1 in Hamilton.
On Thursday, December 3, Latham and Williamson's brilliant assault on the tourists took New Zealand to 243/3 on Day 1, and then the skipper’s third double hundred (251) helped the hosts the put mountain of scores on the board, as they declared the innings at 519/7 in the first Test in Hamilton.
During the course of his 184-ball knock, Latham struck 12 fours and a 6 on the opening day of the first Test on a greener-than-usual Hamilton pitch despite suffering the bruising during the fielding drills ahead of the start of the game against West Indies.
With his gritty knock, the left-hander has shown smart judgment as he perfectly left the ball on both line and length, showing why he has the most runs and the best average for any Test opener since the start of 2018 having amassed 1517 Test runs at over 52 – most by any opener in that period.
Latham told the host broadcaster after the day's play: “There was probably a little bit more grass on this Hamilton wicket than we have traditionally seen in the past. Probably had a little bit more pace as well than we are used to seeing here. I think initially it [the pitch] was probably a little bit slower.”
He further added, “Sometimes when it's a little bit softer, it tends to hold in the wicket a little bit more. But it did dry up a little bit and quickened up but I think West Indies bowled a little bit short, which allowed us to leave a lot of balls on length early on to get ourselves in.”
On his partnership with Williamson, Tom noted: “You sometimes need that. So you've got to make most of those things when you get the chance. There were periods throughout the innings when they did bowl tightly and the scoreboard didn't move too far but that's the beauty of a partnership; you're there together and we got through those periods. That's what we talk about as a unit, building those partnerships.”
He further added, “The danger for me was driving the ball on the up and bring the slips into play. They obviously bowled well in periods and bowled a lot of dots to me and Kane but it was nice to try and overcome those periods and seek some little rewards after that.”
The 28-year-old has also admitted frustration to miss out on the milestone.
Latham signed off by saying, “From a numbers point of view, as an opener in New Zealand when you're sent in your role looks a little different. It was nice to get in that position... but you get to a point where it would have been nice to kick on. But it's about doing a role for the team.”
(With Cricbuzz Inputs)
