New Zealand Name New Test Captain As Tom Latham Out With Injury

Mitchell Santner will become the 32nd man to captain New Zealand in Men’s Test cricket having been named skipper for the first Test against Zimbabwe starting July 30 (Wednesday). 

Incumbent skipper Tom Latham has been carrying a shoulder injury and that’s ruled him out of the first Test. Latham suffered the injury during a Vitality Blast game for Birmingham earlier this month. Despite being ruled out of the first Test, however, the 33-year-old will remain with the squad.

"It’s hugely disappointing for Tom to be missing the first Test, as captain but also as an integral part of the team,” head coach Rob Walter said.

“It’s never great when you lose your captain, 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.”

At the same time, Walter heaped praise on Santner, who is fresh off leading the Blackcaps to victory in the T20I tri-series over Zimbabwe and South Africa.

“Mitch did a wonderful job with the T20 squad in this recent series,” Walter said.

“He was excellent from a strategy point of view, and he has a strong understanding of the game.

"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.”

Santner has so far led New Zealand in 15 ODIs and 32 T20Is. Earlier this year, he led the Kiwis to the final of the 2025 Champions Trophy.