He’s played ten 50-over games at domestic level, he’s only nineteen years old and now Tom Latham is the youngest member of the BLACKCAPS.
And he has the stats to justify his selection.
Latham has been in fantastic form for the Canterbury Wizards in the Ford Trophy this season and boasts an average of over 50 in his short career. His talent was recognised early by the New Zealand selectors and now finds himself preparing to take on Zimbabwe in Dunedin this Friday.
The young left handed batsman admits it’s all a bit surreal for him at the moment.
“As a little kid growing up it’s a dream to play for your country,” said Latham.
“The call from Kim Littlejohn (New Zealand selector) was a dream come true really.”
The exciting prospect has big shoes to fill as well. Tom’s father, Rod Latham, also played for New Zealand and was renowned for his dynamic ability with the bat - Tom is of the same mould.
“I haven’t seen a hell of a lot of him when he played but I’ve heard he tried to smash everything, so probably not quite what I try to do but pretty similar I’d say.”
As well as being a parent, Rod is Tom’s biggest fan and not surprisingly is delighted to see his son follow in his footsteps.
“He was proud as punch and couldn’t stop texting me for a while saying how proud he was. He’s been to where I want to get to and it’s really nice having his influence.”
The young Wizard says that while he owes a lot of his success to his father, Rod maintained his distance when it came to critiquing the finer things in his game.
“He does play a hands-off role. He hasn’t really done the coaching side of things, but he always texts me before a game and says back yourself.”
Those simple words seem to have worked as Tom now has the opportunity to begin his International career while still in his teenage years.
So has he enjoyed the last few of days in camp with the rest of the BLACKCAPS team?
“It’s been a couple of pretty unbelievable days really. It’s gone slowly but it’s been unbelievable. “
