It was not a fluent hundred, but it was exactly the sort of innings New Zealand had spoken about needing on their return to Test cricket
Firdose Moonda29-Jul-2016Tom Latham was seven months old when his father, Rod, scored a century in the first innings of a Test match in Bulawayo. Twenty-four years later, Tom has repeated the feat. Neither of them are likely to have been waiting for this day – it is far too obscure for any family to dwell on – but if they were, it would have been an exercise in waiting much like the junior Latham’s innings itself.More than the shots he played, Latham’s knock was characterised by those he didn’t and those he struggled to get away. He executed the plan New Zealand stressed before they came into this series: that they would need to be “patient.” Everyone from coach Mike Hesson to captain Kane Williamson, to pace spearhead Tim Southee to Latham himself used the word. It was repeated so often, many had become impatient at hearing it but Latham showed it had ingrained itself in their approach.There were leaves at the end of the first day, when he wanted to make sure his team got to stumps unscathed, and leaves in the nineties when he wanted to make sure he got to his century. There were well-timed shots saved by the inner ring and ones that were held up by a sluggish outfield. In between that there were some drives and sweeps and hard-sought singles that took Latham to a century carved from assiduousness. Although Zimbabwe’s attack is not the most threatening and the Queens pitch was not the most hostile, Latham’s concentration was crucial to his success, simple because it would have been so easy for it to crack.That much was obvious early on, when Latham wanted a run but Martin Guptill didn’t, the ball was stopped at cover and both batsmen were stranded mid-pitch. Luckily for them, the throw was sent to the wrong end but they were warned. Even in Zimbabwe, a casual error could end an innings.So could a lazy stroke, as Guptill showed. Donald Tiripano or Michael Chinouya hung several balls outside the off stump and Latham could have been tempted to drive more often, as Gutpill did to Chamu Chibhabha, but he resisted. Later in his innings, when the going was easier against Sikandar Raza, Latham could have swept a little more but he held back any instinct to find runs quickly and focused on hanging around.”It was important that we occupied the crease,” he said. “It was nice that Guptill and I managed to build a decent partnership at the top and then when Kane came in, we just continued that momentum.”An opening stand of 79 and a second-wicket partnership of 156 ensured New Zealand had a lead by midway through the second session but even then, Latham held back. As Graeme Cremer started asking more questions, Latham was even more watchful. He got into line well even though he was occasionally deceived in flight and admitted that was the toughest thing about this knock. “I found him the hardest for face with the ball turning and bouncing and the catchers round the bat,” Latham said.And then he got lucky. Chibhabha got on to move back into him and take the inside edge but Brian Chari could not hold on. Latham was on 85 at the time. He took another 38 balls to bring up his century. Among them were more indippers from Chibhabha and a few rippers from Cremer, including a googly. There were also some inviting short balls from Hamilton Masakadza but Latham, in cautious mode, let them go unpunished. He waited until he could scamper a single to bring up his hundred, his third outside of New Zealand which speaks to his ability to adapt.”It’s nice to come over here and get a hundred in foreign conditions. That’s the biggest thing – with playing around the world, it’s about scoring runs in different conditions,” he said.So what did he make of the surface at Queens? “It is starting to get slower and turn a bit more,” he said, which means New Zealand want to bat for as long as possible in the first innings to avoid doing it again in the second.”We need to build a couple of big partnerships and look to build a big lead. As a batsman, if you get in and you get the pace of the wicket it gets easier,” he said. “But it looks like it is going to deteriorate towards the end which is also a good sign for us when we do get a chance with the ball. We’ve got two great spinners in our team so hopefully we can push for a win.”Latham gives the impression that the victory will mean more to him than the hundred that follows his father’s. He spoke about “being able to contribute to the team,” something that has become a catch-phrase among a close New Zealand unit. Still, he savoured the knowledge that he had repeated something his father did that very few sons can say they have done too. “I only realised it when I came off. It is pretty nice for us to have both scored hundreds here.”
