New Zealand captain Tom Latham has been ruled out of the first Test against Zimbabwe due to a shoulder injury. Following his absence, Mitchell Santner, who also serves as New Zealand’s white-ball captain, will step up to lead the side. Latham, who has not made a complete recovery to play the first Test, picked up the injury while fielding during a T20 match for Birmingham earlier this month.
However, New Zealand head coach Rob Walter expressed optimism that Latham will recover in time.
“It’s never great when you lose your captain (Tom Latham), who’s a world-class opening batter and a great team man, but that said we’re going to work really hard to have him available for the second Test. We’ll continue to assess and see whether a replacement player is necessary, but at this stage we are hopeful that he'll recover in time," Rob Walter said.
Mitchell Santner, who recently led New Zealand to series victory in the Zimbabwe T20I Tri-Series, has played 30 Tests for New Zealand.
“Mitch did a wonderful job with the T20 squad in this recent series. Whilst the format is different, he certainly has the respect of the players and will be supported by some highly experienced Test cricketers, so I trust that he’s going to do a great job.”