Sydney, Oct 30: Rookie New Zealand batsman Tom Latham will open the batting for the first time in his fledgling New Zealand cricket career in the Twenty20 international against Sri Lanka in Pallekele on Wednesday.
Captain Ross Taylor confirmed 20-year-old Latham would be promoted alongside Brendon McCullum in the absence of Martin Guptill, who has been rested for the limited-overs leg of the tour.
Taylor believed a promotion would suit the left-hander who made his international debut and produced solid, if unspectacular, returns in seven ODIs and two Twenty20 internationals.
“He has had a lot of success at the top of the order at age group level. Sometimes a player will come in and play in the middle order and that can be hard to manipulate,” the Sydney Morning Herald quoted Taylor, as saying.
“The field will be in, the ball will be hard and it gives him an opportunity to hit through the ball and hit over the top,” he added.
© ANI
