Cricketing leadership comes in a variety of physical forms; grit with the bat, doggedness with the ball, or hunger in the field.
Peripheral mental factors also count; tactics to outwit opposition strengths and pinpoint weaknesses, nursing teammates’ egos, and injecting the energy to inspire beyond the boundary with words and actions.
To paraphrase the old Speights prospective girlfriend advertisement of the 1990s: “She’s a hard road finding the perfect captain, boy.”
Latham’s application and positive intent were welcome, albeit on a surface that had more of a pistachio than emerald hue this year. Batting should only get easier on the second and third days after getting baked by a Canterbury spring sun and dried in the kiln of a gusty nor’ wester.
The skipper soaked up all the pre-match hullabaloo – the media conference, the trophy shoot and blazer-clad toss duties – with customary earnestness. Then came a key moment in the day. He compartmentalised the external noise to don the pads and face England’s pace attack with aplomb.
A couple of Chris Woakes overs were negotiated before getting off the mark with a single. Latham soon found a cadence, flicking a delivery off his pads to the fine leg fence, opening the face to guide a gimme beyond third man, square driving through cover point and stroking the ball down the ground.
Eventually, Brydon Carse angled across the Black Caps opener as he looked to work the ball into the legside, and coaxed an edge into Ollie Pope’s gloves.
The innings’ wider context is important.
The 32-year-old had stood in as captain in nine tests before his elevation to the permanent role for the historic series win in India. This knock demonstrated a stamping of authority and a desire to lead from the front, particularly on his beloved home ground.
Latham’s maturity and credentials for the job have seldom been in doubt. He has an iron individual will and an unimpeachable team ethos, but has struggled to post big runs consistently when anointed skipper. His average with the reins in 13 tests is 29.85 compared to a career mark of 38.84 from 86.
This might mark a turning point.
The Alternative Commentary Collective is covering every home Black Caps this summer. Listen to live commentary here.
