BENGALURU: Canterbury has had an indelible link to New Zealand cricket. Some of the country's most famous cricketing sons and daughters have played their cricket there, including the likes of Richard Hadlee, Stephen Fleming, Debbie Hockley, Amy Satterthwaite and Nathan Astle. Before the likes of Fleming and Astle, there was Rod Latham, who played 33 ODIs and four Tests for the Black Caps.
More than 30 years after Rod made his debut for New Zealand, his son, Tom, will walk out to lead his country in whites for the first time on a permanent basis. Tom is no stranger to the hot seat, having already led in nine Tests as a stand-in skipper. During a press conference before leaving for India, the opener said he would be 'leaning on those experiences'.
But what kind of person and leader is he? "In the relatively short time that I have known Tom," says Canterbury CEO Jeremy Curwin, "he has always been a leader, both by what he says and how he conducts himself. He is humble, works very hard and has the respect of everyone."
The 32-year-old is also 'a leader on and off the field'. While Tom is vastly experienced at the international level—he has over 250 caps for the Kiwis across the three formats—this will be one of his hardest assignments yet. When Tim Southee stepped down after the 0-2 loss to Sri Lanka earlier this month, the bowler said, "It's Tom's time." "It was my decision to move aside and it's Tom's time to keep moving this team forward," he had said.
While the visitors know they have the experience of playing in Indian conditions — most of their top-order have played a lot of recent IPL cricket—Tom is somebody who will look to take everyone with him. "He has time for everyone," Curwin, who has been in situ at Canterbury for seven years, says. "That's irrespective of whether they are young supporters asking for an autograph or young players looking for guidance from fellow teammates. He is a dedicated, hardworking professional but also has a very stable life outside of cricket with a strong support network around him, which is important."
Apart from that, the Latham name carries a lot of heft within the local Canterbury community. "The Latham family is a true Canterbury great," Curwin says. "Not quite in the same realm as the Hadlee family but not far off. The family is highly respected, both for what they have done on the field but also for their influence and regard for it and are well known in the local community. Tom and Rod are often seen around the club scene as they are very respectful of the community game where they came from and learnt the game."
In the winter of 1988, Canterbury's finest — Hadlee — left a mark at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium. When he dismissed Arun Lal on the first morning of the Test, he moved past Ian Botham's then world record for most wickets in the longest format. The Kiwis may have lost that series 1-2 but it became a significant reference point for Hadlee's career.
Tom will look to have a similar kind of impact.
