You’d be hard-pressed to find a cricketer more underappreciated globally than Black Caps test captain Tom Latham.
His teammates, though, know exactly how significant his standing in the game is.
As cricket evolves rapidly into a game of big hits and short boundaries, it is easy to overlook the role that Latham plays – a nuggety opener who earns every run, and does everything to lay a platform for his team.
Opening the batting is the hardest job in the game. Doing so in New Zealand is even harder.
As well as facing the new ball, when the best bowlers are at their best, openers in Aotearoa have to contend with wickets designed to do anything but favour batters at the top of the order.
But that is how and where Latham has made his name. Of all the greats to have opened the batting for New Zealand, none have scored more runs, or more centuries than Latham at the top of the order.
In a game that perhaps places far too much weight on statistics, Latham’s test batting average of 39.62 doesn’t tell the full picture, and sees him overlooked in conversations about the best players of this era.
However, when considering that Latham’s average in New Zealand is 44.35, it’s easier to understand his significance in considering his time in the side has coincided with the sport’s most successful period.
On top of that, with his job being to see off the new ball and make it easier for batters coming in after him, Latham averages facing nearly 80 deliveries per innings.
That mark is superior to Australia’s David Warner (61 balls per innings), South Africa’s Graeme Smith (76 balls) and India’s Rohit Sharma (65 balls) as modern-day openers.
“We certainly value what he does, in our team,” said Kane Williamson. “He’s totally aware of that.
“We know that contribution within the group is the most important thing. He’s done it in such a big way for a long period of time.
“It’s never overlooked in our group. I don’t know what other people think. I think he’s probably considered to be a very, very, high-quality opening batsman.”
Latham’s importance was on show during New Zealand’s 2-0 test series win over the West Indies this past month.
Having entered the series without a test century in nearly three years, Latham finished the series with 427 runs, and reached triple figures three times.
After 91 tests, Latham now has 16 test centuries. Only Williamson (33), Ross Taylor (19) and Martin Crowe (17) have more for New Zealand, coming in the middle order, after the openers - in theory - have made it easier.
And while again accepting that numbers don’t always tell the full picture, Latham himself concedes that the team’s needs come before his own.
“Your currency as a batter is runs,” Latham began. “But I’ve always looked at what my role is in the team.
“I know as an opening batter, some days it’s going to be tricky. Some of the surfaces that we play on can certainly be challenging.
“Me doing my role is all I’m after, from a team point of view. If that means a little milestone and a tick in that column, so be it.
“To be able to put the team where we’re in a position to push for wins is what this group is about, and certainly what I’m about, and obviously to be able to do that.”
Pleasingly for the Black Caps, 2025 has seen Latham end a lean run with the bat in test cricket.
While a shoulder injury in Zimbabwe restricted him to just three tests, a batting average of over 71 will hopefully continue into 2026, when the Black Caps tour England and Australia, with a home series against India in between.
And with the added responsibility of captaincy, Williamson predicts that the Black Caps are still to see the best of their captain.
“His game is going to another level, I think,” he added. “He’s always just been an incredible, solid opener, probably our best ever.
“To do it for 90-odd test matches, over 11 years as successfully as he’s done, and building an incredible record, his contribution has been immense.
“Now with the captaincy, we’re seeing bigger and better things from him. It’s been brilliant to watch and be part of his career. He’s got plenty left.”
Alex Powell is a sports journalist for the NZ Herald. He has been a sports journalist since 2016.