• Home
  • Who Said What
  • I Tried To Be Proactive Tom Latham Speaks After Nzs Big Win Over Ned

'I Tried To Be Proactive..,'- Tom Latham Speaks After NZ's Big Win Over NED

image-lnj5ff83Tom Latham in action against Netherlands in 2023 World Cup [X.com]

New Zealand trounced the Netherlands by 99 runs to register their second successive comprehensive win in this 2023 World Cup. Mitchell Santner lit up the stage at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium with a scintillating all-round display, belting a thunderous 17-ball 36* with the bat before scalping five Dutch wickets in the evening.

After the match, interim Kiwi skipper Tom Latham praised Santner for his all-round performance and commended the collective efforts of all batters for putting up a colossal total upfront.

Tom Latham hails ‘outstanding’ spinners for big NZ win

Prior to the match, New Zealand were invited to bat first after Netherlands skipper Scott Edwards had won the toss. Tom Latham, New Zealand's stand-in captain in Kane Williamson's absence, said that he would have also fielded first upon winning the toss.

With sparkling cameos from Daryl Mitchell and Mitchell Santner, coupled with crafty half-centuries from Will Young, Rachin Ravindra and captain Latham himself, New Zealand mounted 322-7 upfront in their 50 overs. The wicketkeeper-batsman praised the collective batting efforts of his side, which allowed them to unleash their death-overs fury a bit earlier in the innings.

Latham also hailed Mitchell Santner's sublime batting effort for leading a brutal spin attack on the hapless Dutchmen. The makeshift skipper further claimed that the team is not far away from having their full squad available for the tournament. Speaking at the post-match presentation, Tom Latham said:

“We would have bowled. We did a great job with the bat. We managed to build partnerships, put a great score on the board and the bowlers did a fantastic job. Partnership after partnership allowed us to go into the death a little bit earlier. I tried to be proactive with the changes. The spinners were outstanding. Mitchell Santner got the rewards. The big boys did a good job upfront. We are not too far away (from having the full squad available).”

New Zealand, following impressive wins over England and Netherlands, will now go up against Bangladesh on October 13 for their subsequent World Cup 2023 challenge. Their much-awaited battle will be played out at the M.A. Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai.