The Newly appointed skipper Tom Latham has revealed the side’s game plan for the upcoming three-match test series on the New Zealand tour of India 2024.
After the black caps suffered a 2-0 whitewash in the New Zealand tour of Sri Lanka, Tim Southee stepped down as the captain and Tom Latham took over the role. NZC has announced the New Zealand squad for the tests where Kane Williamson will be missing the first test due to a groin strain.
New Zealand has a history of winning only two tests out of 36 matches played in the country.
While speaking to the media ahead of the tests, Tom Latham said, “From my point of view it’s about trying to continue doing the good stuff we’ve been doing, trying to put my spin on things.”
“It’s exciting and challenging going over to India and once we can go over there hopefully [we can] play with a bit of freedom, a bit of no fear and try and take it to them. If we do that hopefully gives ourselves a good chance.”
“It’s a massive honour and a huge privilege”
Hear from skipper Tom Latham ahead of the team’s departure for India 🇮🇳 🏟 #INDvNZ pic.twitter.com/NFCaSvhdSz
— BLACKCAPS (@BLACKCAPS) October 10, 2024
“Think 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 which is really important over there rather than sitting and waiting for something to happen.”
“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,” he added.
While New Zealand are on a four-game losing streak in Tests, India recently crushed Bangladesh by a 2-0 margin at home and remained their top position in the WTC points table.
He also backed Tim Southe to overcome his poor test bowling form on the tour of India. The 25-year-old endured his time with the ball in six tests picking only eight wickets at an average of 73.12.
“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,” said Tom Latham.
“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,” he added. Despite his recent struggles, Southee remains New Zealand’s second-leading wicket-taker in tests with 382 scalps with 15 five-wicket hauls in 102 outings.
The India-New Zealand tests will be played between October 16 and November 05 with the first test to be played at M. Chinnaswamy Stadium.
