The New Zealand test captain, Tom Latham, has been ruled out of the second test against Zimbabwe, with Santner to continue to lead the side.
The side has been struck with fresh injury concerns, where Nathan Smith was ruled out due to abdominal strain, while William O’Rourke missed the second test due to back stiffness.
Latham hasn’t recovered in time from a left shoulder injury had kept him out of the series opener. Santner was the captain of the nine-wicket win in the first test of New Zealand tour of Zimbabwe 2025 and now look to replicate the success in similar fashion.
Speaking on Latham’s unavailability, New Zealand head coach Rob Walter said, “It’s hugely disappointing to lose Tom again…He’s been working hard and had been tracking well towards the second Test but unfortunately today he couldn’t pass his fitness tests.”
“He’s extremely gutted he won’t be able to take the park and we’re really feeling for him,” he added.
With new injury concerns, their absence adds further pressure on New Zealand’s squad depth heading into the decider. Meanwhile, the team has added uncapped batter Bevon Jacobs, who made his T20I debut last month during the tri-series featuring Zimbabwe and South Africa.
“With Tom being ruled out on the eve of the match we needed to quickly bring in an extra pair of hands to provide fielding and batting cover. Thankfully Bevon had been playing in Johannesburg and was able to make the short trip to Bulawayo,” Walter added.
New Zealand had entirely dominated the first test in Bulawayo bundling Zimbabwe out for 184 and 127 in their two innings. Matt Henry and Mitchell Santner were the stars with the ball, while Devon Conway’s solid 84 run knock.
With one more game to go, Black Caps will hope to carry forward their momentum and seal the series in Bulawayo.
