Tom Latham couldn’t have asked for a tougher first assignment than a Test tour of India after being named as the full time New Zealand captain. India have been on a record winning streak at home, having won 18 Test series in a row and New Zealand will next tour the country with a tall ask of putting an end to their home domination.
However, history tells a different story. Of their 35 Tests in India, New Zealand have managed to beat their hosts just twice – once in 1969 and the last victory coming in 1988. Latham though feels that the way to challenge India’s invincibility at home is to be fearless.
“It’s an exciting challenging going over to India and once we can go over there, hopefully play with a bit of freedom, bit of no fear and try and take it to them. If we do that hopefully, it gives ourselves a good chance,” Latham said ahead of the New Zealand’s departure to India on Friday.
“In India we’ve seen teams that have done well out there in the past have been quite aggressive towards them, especially with the bat they’ve looked to play a few shots, but also put them under pressure…rather than sitting and waiting for something to happen,” he added.
New Zealand will be in India for a three-match Test series that gets underway from October 16 in Bengaluru followed by the second game in Pune from October 24 with the final contest in Mumbai from November 1. Latham, who took over the Test captaincy after Tim Southee stepped down recently, says the team hasn’t zeroed in on how they want to approach the India Tests but the players have an idea which they will need fine-tuning.
“We’ll decide on how we want to play when we get over there, but guys have got plans around how they like to approach things and hopefully we can fine-tune those,” Latham said.
Southee’s form with the ball has been a cause of concern for New Zealand and with the emergence of Will O’Rourke, there’s a threat to the veteran fast bowler’s place in the playing XI now. However, Latham points to Southee’s record, giving him his full backing.
“If you look back, think in Bangalore (Southee) took seven wickets last time we toured there,” Latham said. “Someone with that amount of experience who’s done it for many years there’s certainly no reason why he can’t get back to where he’s been in the past. He’s been a fantastic bowler for us for many years, there’s a reason why he’s so high on the wicket list for New Zealand.”
“He’ll have a similar role that he has always had whether it’s as captain or in the past, someone like that who has a wealth of experience, a wealth of knowledge in all conditions and he’s done it for many years and has been successful. We’ll certainly be tapping into his mind, his ideas, so looking forward to it,” Latham added.
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