Will Young and Tom Latham opened the batting together in Hamilton. Photo / Photosport
Will Young and Tom Latham opened the batting together in Hamilton. Photo / Photosport
From a record-setting loss to a record-levelling win, much changed for the Black Caps inside a week. Most notably, two names on the teamsheet.
But despite Will Young establishing the platform and Mitchell Santner earning player of the match, skipper Tom Latham would have changed nothing about his selections earlier in the English series.
A sixth win from 12 tests was secured with 423 runs to spare, equalling the record for their biggest victory by runs. Last week, they suffered a sixth loss this year by a margin of 323 runs, marking a new low in the same category.
The turnaround was timed well to farewell Tim Southee in a style suiting one of the greats of the game. And it owed to decisive contributions from two players who had watched from the sidelines as England sealed the series.
Young was player of the series in India before making way for Kane Williamson in Christchurch and Wellington. But with Devon Conway staying in the capital on parental leave, Young helped craft the Black Caps’ first century opening stand since February 2023.
The 32-year-old followed his 42 in that partnership with Latham by collecting 60 in the second innings, averaging 51 in the series compared to Conway’s 5.3.
Santner, meanwhile, played for the first time since recording the third-best match figures by a New Zealander in test history, backing up that 13-wicket haul in Pune with an all-round effort almost as influential.
Batting with the tail, his 76 lifted a sub-par first-innings total into one that defined the match, adding a rapid 49 in a second knock that took the target well beyond England’s reach.
With the ball, Santner accounted for a threatening stand between Ben Stokes and Ollie Pope in his first turn, then trapped Joe Root before wrapping up the second innings to register 7-92.
Both recalled players were in form and both delivered. Yet Latham had no regrets about overlooking the hot hands and leaving both to twiddle their thumbs.
“It’s all wicket-dependent,” the skipper said. “You look at the surface and the traditions of the wickets we played on in the first two tests, where spin doesn’t necessarily play a huge part, from our point of view we believed that was the best XI for those two games.
“You can look back and say, ‘Why didn’t he play?’ But that was the approach we wanted to come in with, and unfortunately it wasn’t meant to be. We had our opportunities during those first two test matches but we weren’t able to capitalise.”
Mitchell Santner appeals in the test match against England at Seddon Park, Hamilton. Photo / Photosport
The next opportunities for Young and Santner will come in a two-test tour to Zimbabwe in July. The strength of that squad is uncertain, given the series won’t count towards the World Test Championship, while Conway’s future is also unclear without a central contract.
Latham does expect his long-time opening partner to return, though he knows Young deserves a regular place in the XI.
“It’s always a hard position when you’re a back-up batter and you don’t get consistent opportunities,” he said. “But the series in India, the way that he played over there, then not playing for a while and coming back in this test match, I thought he played fantastically well.”
In Hamilton at least, the same could be said of the whole team, a performance Latham described as close to complete.
It completed his second series as test skipper, having succeeded the retiring Southee, and one of the most curious years in the team’s test history.
A weakened South Africa were swatted aside; a series with Australia was almost squared but for a lower-order tourist rearguard; a subcontinent swing produced a sweep by Sri Lanka and a sweep of India; then three contrasting games were split against England.
If a couple of results had gone differently, Southee’s career could have extended to another World Test Championship final. But, all things considered, a balanced win-loss record was more indicative of the state of the team.
“You always look back on potential matches you could have won,” Latham said. “We had an opportunity to come here and push our case for the World Test Championship final, and unfortunately it wasn’t meant to be.”
The Alternative Commentary Collective is covering every home Black Caps test this summer. Listen to live commentary here.
Kris Shannon has been a sports journalist since 2011 and covers a variety of codes for the Herald. Reporting on Grant Elliott’s six at Eden Park in 2015 was a career highlight.
