Opening A Can Of Worms: Tom Latham's On His Way To The Test Opener's Lounge
Alistair Cook's waiting for you in the lounge bruh
Kiwi cricket has always had a handy medium-pacer or two, Daniel Vettori and a reasonably average opening pair during my time following Aotearoa's cricket team. There's no tougher task in Test cricket than opening as you've got to face the opposition's most hostile bowler, with a brand-spanking-new cherry which has a seam poppin' out.
The Blackcaps have rolled through many an opener, with the rotating cast of openers used reflecting kiwi cricket nicely; some were clearly not up to international standard and some were the best in Aotearoa ... which wasn't quite good enough for a consistent Test career. Then Tom Latham popped up and he had this look about him, the sort of look that immediately calms you down. Some batsmen - take Kane Williamson for example - have class that is on full-display in a forward defence, let alone a flowing cover-drive. Latham might not have that class, yet he just looks like an opener and the class is replaced by a grit and level of skill that not many other batsmen have shown.
While people worry themselves silly about Martin Guptill, zoning in on Latham is a far healthier activity. The ability to leave the ball is heavily slept on and with a desire to feel bat on ball taking over Test cricket, Latham is more of a classical opener as he does his best not to fiddle in the channel outside his off-stump. The know-how on leaving and the way Latham's hands don't venture too far away from his body are what caught my eye about Latham and while Latham has attacking shots to fall back on, the leave and resisting temptation to throw his hands at wider deliveries is the foundation of any opener's game, let alone a left-handed opener.
Leave, defend straight balls and then clip anything that slides too close to middle/leg-stump through the leg-side, or pounce on an over-pitched delivery outside off-stump. Latham knows his game, he knows his job and he never really moves away from this which is exactly what a good opener does. The way Latham has adjusted to the spin in India has also been admirable, showing off the ability to identify a way to keep the spinners at bay (sweepin') and to then execute under pressure. All good batsmen have options though and Latham is capable all-round the wicket, rocking on to his back-foot when bowlers over compensate and drop a tad shorter, pushing it outside off.
Drive, flick, pull and cut, Latham has his scoring options but it all starts with luring the bowler in with the leave and defence. These aren't unique skills from Latham, just staples of any good opener's repertoire, it's just that as kiwis, we've never really been treated to such a steady display of opening skills with room for plenty more development.
We've got a decent sample size to work with, with 25 games almost moving out of a Test cricket honeymoon period and into the stage where opposition bowling attacks have seen more of you, have better plans to get your wicket etc. 25 games isn't enough to hail Latham as any sort of saviour, however there's an early trend that impresses me in Latham's career so far.
Latham has played Tests in Australia, England, India, South Africa, United Arab Emirates, West Indies, Zimbabwe and of course, Aotearoa. Latham struggled in South Africa recently and his average of 2.66 highlights that, however in all other countries except for Aotearoa, Latham averages over 30. His average of 29.92 isn't too far behind and is more thanks to playing twice as many games in Aotearoa (seven) than anywhere else, however averaging over 30 in Australia, England, India, UAE, West Indies and Zim at this stage of your career is no easy task.
Not only has there been consistently solid output from Latham in a variety of conditions, he's got the same consistency across the three years he's played Test cricket. Latham averaged 42.86 in 2014 from eight Tests, then 35.80 in 2015 from eight Tests and after nine Tests this year, Latham's averaging 36.35. Not only does Latham impressed in a variety of conditions, he has found and is finding ways to keep doing his job for the team over time. I'd argue that this is what makes Latham stand out against others as he is able to think about his game and then implement changes, in different conditions and over time as he deals with different challenges.
Call it cricket-smarts, being a great learner or just being a switched-on young bloke, Latham appears more comfortable in what it takes to get better than perhaps a few other kiwi cricketers. This - along with his skill - is also evident in what Latham did for Kent earlier this year on the Kiwi County Tour, where he played six games and averaged 46.75 with four half-centuries. Latham adapted to the challenge of County cricket and basically did what he has done/is doing for the Blackcaps for Kent in County cricket.
Centuries are what all batsmen crave and it's become the marker by you and I judge batsmen, however the Blackcaps don't necessarily need Latham scoring centuries regularly. Five centuries and nine half-centuries for Latham does point to an ability to kick on and build a big innings, it's Latham's ability to put a high price on his wicket and see out the new-ball that is most impressive for me. If Latham maintains an average of between 38-45, it only means that more often than not he will be scoring close to 50 which is lovely and all, but it also means he'll be facing over 100 balls consistently and having an opener who can absorb the initial challenge and take the sting out of the opposition's bowling attack is an asset.
Latham is classic Test opener in that regard and there's absolutely nothing wrong with it, not when we have an endless list of examples of batsmen who struggle to deal with the patience, mental fortitude and skill to rid themselves of the 'bat on ball' mentality which T20 and 50-over cricket creates. Latham might not be able to demand a billion rupees in the Indian Premier League, he might even struggle to hold down a spot in the Blackcaps ODI team but who cares?
Latham is slowly showing that he's coming to grips with the hardest job in Test cricket and for all the glitz and glam that can come with success in limited overs cricket, there's a special level of respect reserved for solid Test opener. Latham isn't there yet, he is however climbing the stairs to that lounge where Alistair Cook is waiting for him with a beverage of his choice and a cigar.