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'Outstanding' - Tom Latham praises Black Caps after historic Test series win over England

June 14, 2021

Victorious Black Caps stand-in captain Tom Latham has lavished praise on his teammates' performance during the second Test against England, saying the team was "outstanding".

England endured its first test series defeat at home since 2014 after meekly surrendering to New Zealand in less than an hour of play on the fourth day of the second Test at Edgbaston overnight.

New Zealand started the second Test with six changes to the team following the first Test at Lord's which ended in a draw.

"It's great to have that performance under the belt. We were outstanding over the four days, everyone who came in did their roles," Latham told Reuters.

"It's fantastic for the depth of New Zealand cricket. Will Young, Matt Henry haven't had much opportunity but the way they stood up was outstanding.

"England have a fantastic bowling attack and we played them really well. We adapted well and put good numbers on the board."

England skipper Joe Root said his team had "massively underperformed".

"It hasn't been our best week, has it? Credit to New Zealand they have outperformed us throughout the game," Root told Reuters.

"It's a tough one to take because at the start of the week I thoroughly thought we could come here and win the series, but in all departments we could have been a little bit better if we're being brutally honest."

Resuming on 122-9, England lost its final wicket to the very first ball of the morning when Olly Stone poked Trent Boult timidly to wicketkeeper Tom Blundell.

That left a paltry target of 38 to take the two-match series 1-0 and the Black Caps became the first away side since Sri Lanka seven years ago to win in England with an eight-wicket victory.

Stuart Broad and Stone took a wicket apiece as Devon Conway nicked behind and Will Young dragged down his own stumps, but there was little more than ironic cheering from the stands.

Tom Latham, captaining what was a weakened side in the absence of top-ranked batsman Kane Williamson, levelled the scores by nudging Mark Wood for four and won it with a steer to the third-man boundary. He finished 23 not out, with Ross Taylor not facing a ball at the non-striker’s end.

In total there had been just under an hour of play, with a total of 11 overs, which meant that full refunds were due for those in attendance.

The win sees New Zealand go to the top of the Test rankings.

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