Christchurch: New Zealand promised to bounce back quickly from its first-test loss to Bangladesh and captain Tom Latham redeemed the pledge with a commanding unbeaten century Sunday on the first day of the second Test.
Latham lost the toss for the sixth time while standing in as captain for Kane Williamson and had to bat on a disconcertingly green pitch at Hagley Oval. By stumps he was 186 not out and with the help of a half-century to Will Young and Devon Conway, who faced a nervous night on 99 not out, New Zealand was 349-1.
“I’m a bit nervous naturally but I’ll try to take a sleeping tablet to help me go to bed and reassess tomorrow,” Conway said.
“It was special today, considering the fact after we lost the toss. I think both teams wanted to bowl first. The way Tom Latham and Will Young went about their work was really special and Tom was outstanding to bat throughout the day and I was just grateful to bat beside him.”
Bangladesh’s shock win in the first test thrilled the cricket world. The ninth-ranked team in the world had beaten the second-ranked team. Even more, the immense underdogs had beaten the champions of the long format in their home conditions where they were unbeaten in their last 17 Tests.
It was the stuff of fairytales but on Sunday the quiet, pragmatic Latham brought Bangladesh back to a cruel reality. Latham hadn’t previously scored even a half-century but the captain dominated the day, carrying his bat through 90 overs. By stumps, he had hit 28 fours for 112 runs from boundaries.
