Tom Latham: “I feel like I’m hitting the ball pretty well in the nets”
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New Zealand wicketkeeper-batsman Tom Latham acknowledged that he has experienced a dip in form as of late, but insisted that he is confident of turning his fortunes around.
Latham moved down from an opener to the No. 5 spot in New Zealand’s ODI squad during their tour of India in October 2017 and enjoyed a lot of success as he made scores of 103 not out, 38 and 65.
As a result, he was the second-highest scorer in the series with 206 runs at an average of 103.
But, things have gone downhill for the 25-year-old since then as he averaged 24.66 and 12 in the ODI series against the West Indies and Pakistan respectively.
“I had a little bit of success in India, but it’s still reasonably new batting in the middle order. For me, it’s making sure I can learn each game and take those experiences from each game and learn from them,” Latham was quoted as saying by stuff.co.nz. “I’m by far the finished product. I’m looking to evolve my game wherever I can.
“I feel like I’m hitting the ball pretty well in the nets. I feel like I’ve been doing that most of the summer, but it obviously hasn’t transferred into a big score, whether that be for Canterbury or New Zealand.
“That’s the most pleasing thing, I’m hitting the ball all right, which is certainly a good thing. I feel like it’s just a matter of time before a big score comes.”
Latham added that he is still adapting to his new position on the batting line-up as the situation is not always the same when he comes out to crease.
“As an opener, you know the situation and you know what you need to do, whether you’re batting first or second,” he said. “Whereas, when you’re batting five, every time you go out to bat it’s a completely different scenario every game. The more times I’m put in a certain situation, I’ll certainly learn from it.”
Meanwhile, with New Zealand’s five-match ODI series against England getting underway on February 25 in Hamilton, Latham conceded that both sides are evenly matched.
“They’re a team who go out and play with no fear and we’re sort of the same,” he added. “If both sides can play to their potential it’s going to be a cracker of a series.”