 20-year-old Tom Latham, a fast growing talent in New Zealand is keen to perform well and hopes to get a lot of experience during his first overseas trip with a senior side, as the Kiwis head to the West Indies later this week.
The son of former opening batsman Rod Latham who played in the 1992 World Cup, Tom made his international debut earlier this year in the ODI series against Zimbabwe, making 79 runs in 3 innings with a high score of 48.
“It was pretty exciting,” he was quoted saying.
“I know it was only Zimbabwe but it was still international cricket and being around the guys like Brendon (McCullum), who I really looked up to growing up, was pretty cool.”
With all the talent oozing out of this youngster, there is no doubt that he will represent a strong New Zealand side one day, but for now, he will have to gather every bit of experience and determination he can get, and cement his place in the international eleven. There will be a lot of work cut out for him, which he is willing to do, and with opportunities coming up rapidly, he is more confident than ever.
The New Zealand selectors have decided to give him some more time to develop, and have not picked him for the series against South Africa, but he has been named in both the ODI and T20 squad for the West Indies tour.
“They are playing some good cricket at the moment. In their home town they will be tough and be a challenge for us,” he was quoted saying about the Windies.
Latham also hopes to increase his chances of becoming a New Zealand International further by continuing to practice wicket-keeping as well. He had stopped it for some time to concentrate on batting in First-Class cricket after being dropped to middle order from the #1 slot. |
