Cricket: Tom Latham and Black Caps eye unlikely win in second test against England

Tom Latham and the Black Caps showed their grit on day three. Photo / photosport.nz

The batting resurgence led by Tom Latham was essential in offering the Black Caps belief they could win the second test.

But the opener said it was imperative for another reason: his team had to prove they could still count on the character that took them to the top of the world.

Latham and his top-order cohort had risked leaving the England series as the decisive factor in a 2-0 defeat. Three times there had been a collective failure to show their mettle, leading to a 267-run loss in the first test and a 226-run deficit in the second.

But beginning with a 149-run opening stand between Latham and Devon Conway, those batsmen toiled for six hours on day three to leave the hosts last night entertaining the possibility of an unthinkable victory.

“Absolutely,” Latham said when asked whether the Black Caps could become the fourth side to win a test after following on. “Cricket’s a funny game; things can change pretty quickly. We’ve certainly got to believe we can win this test.”

There is evidence to support that belief, no matter if the possibility still seems remote.

After Latham (83) and Conway (61) were dismissed in the final session, the Black Caps will resume trailing by 24 runs with seven wickets in hand. Kane Williamson is at the crease looking for his first score this series. There’s a bit of batting to come, and now England must contemplate a fourth-innings chase.

Any belief would have belonged only to an unhinged mind had things gone differently for Latham and Conway.

With an average opening stand of 8.3 this series, the pair were due. Not just to provide those behind them a platform from which to build a competitive total, but to reinforce what has long been a tenet of this team.

“The character of this group is we stand up when things aren’t going so well,” Latham said. “I think we’ve managed to do that - we’ve shown the characteristics of this group that we talk about.

“The game of cricket can be fickle at times and sometimes things don’t go according to plan. Obviously the last test match and the first innings didn’t quite go our way, but the way the guys were able to adapt to the wicket was really important.

“Hopefully that confidence can go through the group and we can push on.”

Latham, who was “very proud” to become the seventh New Zealand to score 5000 test runs, outlined a few key differences between his sides’ varying fortunes across their two turns with the bat.

“We talk about partnerships, and to set the tone that way was really important,” he said. “On a wicket like this where there’s a little bit more bounce, it’s about trying to adapt.

“We probably didn’t quite do that quick enough the other day, but for us to build that partnership, to leave well and wait for them to come to us and absorb a little bit of pressure up the top was really important, especially after being put back in.”

Enforcing the follow-on loomed as potentially one of Ben Stokes’ only missteps since assuming the captaincy. England were at least able to remove both openers and Will Young, but the Black Caps could have been batted out of the match. Instead…

“Whether it’s 200 or 250, you just never know,” Latham said of a possible target. “We’ve seen the wicket is still doing enough with the old ball and with the new ball, and there’s plenty of turn.

“We know it’s going to be another day to show that character and that fight this group has got. We’re certainly looking forward to the opportunity.”