Captain Tom Latham on Tuesday (August 31) admitted that “things won't be easy” for the Black Caps in Bangladesh, as he is set to lead an inexperienced New Zealand side in the upcoming five-match T20I series, starting on Wednesday (September 1) in Dhaka.
New Zealand will be without the services of their stars like Kane Williamson, Tim Southee, Trent Boult, James Nisham and Kyle Jamieson – who will all participate in the second half of the IPL 2021 in the UAE – in the five-match T20I series against Bangladesh.
Latham, who hasn't played a T20I since 2017, has a big challenge ahead to lead the inexperienced New Zealand side in Bangladesh as the hosts are fresh off thrashing Australia 4-1 earlier this August.
The stand-in captain admitted that he has “a slightly younger group”, but insisted that the vibe is good in the touring camp and his past “captaincy experience” will help in Bangladesh ahead of the first T20I in Dhaka.
He further said leading his country “is a really big honor” for him and is looking forward to “grow and improve” as the skipper with the T20 format presenting him “another opportunity”.
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Latham said ahead of the first T20I: “It is a really big honor to lead the side from a T20 point of view. Obviously I haven't played for a long time. The way the world is at the moment, what NZC is doing for player welfare, it has presented an opportunity for a lot of the guys including myself. We know things won't be easy over here looking at the Australia series.”
He further added, “Most of the guys have experience at this level before. A couple of guys haven't been in the squad before. It is exciting for them to get in the group and try to keep things as relaxed as possible. We have had two camps so from a preparation point of view; it has been a long time. Everyone is pretty excited to get going tomorrow. There has been a good vibe around the group.”
The stand-in skipper continued, “Most of the guys have played T20s for New Zealand but probably not as much as they would like to. We have to enjoy ourselves out there and stick to a brand of cricket that we believe can be successful in these conditions. Our goal is to win the series.”
In their previous T20I series, Bangladesh dominated Australia on low and slow wickets, beating them 4-1 and Latham refused to single out any particular bowler who might pose a threat to New Zealand in the spin-friendly conditions but said the tourists are ready with their game plan for the T20I series.
He signed off by saying, “They all present their challenges. Mustafizur Rahman at the top of the innings is renowned for his slower balls. We saw how he bowled against Australia. The spinners at the top and through the middle will present the challenges. (Our) guys have been working really hard for the last five days to come up with plans best to negate them.”
New Zealand Squad:
Jacob Duffy, Ajaz Patel, Matt Henry, Tom Latham (c), Finn Allen, Blair Tickner, Hamish Bennett, Tom Blundell, Doug Bracewell, Colin de Grandhomme, Scott Kuggeleijn, Cole McConchie, Henry Nicholls, Rachin Ravindra, Ben Sears, Will Young
(With AFP Inputs)
