Tom Latham has been ruled out of the first Test against Zimbabwe, starting on July 30 in Bulawayo, owing to a shoulder injury. Latham picked up the injury while playing for Birmingham Bears in the Vitality Blast and couldn’t recover in time for the opening Test of the series. He is likely to return for the second Test, which begins on August 7.
In his place, New Zealand’s white-ball captain Mitchell Santner will lead the side, marking his first red-ball Test captaincy assignment.
“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.”
Santner, who has played 30 Tests so far, was the player of the match in the last Test New Zealand played, against England at Hamilton. He scored 125 runs across both innings and took seven wickets. He comes fresh off a Tri-series win against South Africa and Zimbabwe.
“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.”
Besides Latham, New Zealand will also be without pacer Ben Sears and batter Glenn Phillips, both of whom are recovering from injuries. Michael Bracewell, who hasn’t played any red-ball game since 2023, has been added to the squad in Phillips’ place. In addition, Kane Williamson and Kyle Jamieson have made themselves unavailable for the series. While Jamieson is on a personal break, awaiting the birth of his child, Williamson will stay in England to play for Middlesex. He last played for the side in the Champions Trophy final, when his team lost against India in Dubai.
The visitors have also given a maiden call-up to Matt Fisher, who is known for regularly clocking 140kph, making him one of the fastest bowlers in the country currently.
New Zealand will play Zimbabwe in two Tests in Bulawayo. Zimbabwe are having a jam-packed red-ball season, playing more Tests this year than all Test-playing nations barring Australia. For New Zealand, this will be their first Test in seven months, though it will not be part of the World Test Championship (WTC) cycle. This will also be their first Test following Tim Southee’s retirement.
New Zealand Squad for Test Series against Zimbabwe:
Tom Latham (c), Tom Blundell, Devon Conway, Jacob Duffy, Matt Fisher, Matt Henry, Daryl Mitchell, Henry Nicholls, Will O’Rourke, Ajaz Patel, Michael Bracewell, Rachin Ravindra, Mitch Santner, Nathan Smith, Will Young
