Tom Latham did not hide his satisfaction after New Zealand’s “old-school” 253-run win at The Oval. Yet the stand-in skipper was already looking forward, asking his players to “keep raising the bar” as they go in search of a 2-1 series victory over England at Trent Bridge.
“Any series you step into, the end goal is to be there at the end with the results that you want,” Latham reminded everyone. “What’s important for us is the work we do leading up to that point, and trying to stick to the things that we do well and stick to our style as best we can.”
Key facts first. The series is locked at 1-1. Kane Williamson’s shock retirement, confirmed only five days before the second Test, leaves NZ without their long-time talisman. Kyle Jamieson has been ruled out of the finale as the medical staff manage his comeback from a back stress fracture. Blair Tickner is set to replace him; a frontline spinner – most likely Mitchell Santner – could play for the first time in the series if the surface stays dry.
“He’s certainly not injured; there’s nothing there to worry about,” Latham said of Jamieson. “It was always the plan for him to get through two Test matches.” That gives Tickner, used sporadically so far, a timely chance on what is usually a lively Nottingham deck.
Santner’s prospects have improved thanks to a rare British heatwave. Shoulder surgery in March looked certain to rule him out of this tour, but, as Latham put it: “For Mitch to get himself ready for this tour… was testament to the work that he put in. He’s someone that spins the ball on many different surfaces. If we do go down that line, then we certainly know he’ll be a threat throughout the five days.”
Tactically, New Zealand may well stick to the attritional methods that worked in south London. “It was a really good example of how we operated last week… It was a little bit more old-school, and trying to do things for long periods of time and keep being a threat for long periods of time,” the captain explained. “If it’s required throughout this week to do something similar, then we’ll obviously be looking to do that.”
The Black Caps know, however, that Trent Bridge can turn into a batter’s playground. England famously gunned down 299 in only 50 overs here four years ago, with Latham captaining in Williamson’s absence. “If you look at that series as a whole, the results were probably a little bit closer than what the scoreboard suggests,” he reflected. “In all three games, we were certainly in the hunt… There were three really good chases throughout that series from England. You obviously know what happened towards the back end of the game with Jonny [Bairstow] and Stokesy [Ben Stokes].”
New Zealand will spend the next 24 hours studying pitch conditions and forecast temperatures. An unchanged XI is possible, a spin option just as likely. Either way, Latham’s brief is clear: lean on the same patience and discipline that delivered at The Oval, while keeping one eye on Nottingham’s short boundaries and quick outfield. Another “old-school” effort might just clinch a rare away series triumph.
