Ahead of South Africa’s second Test, the stand-in captain was delighted but not deterred by the praise of Team of the Year at the Halberg Awards.
New Zealand rode a high in the second Test of the series, crushing South Africa by an innings and 276 runs within three days last week and the Halberg award for Team of the Year on Wednesday night in Auckland.
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Stand-in captain Tom Latham refuses to go away :-
But stand-in captain Tom Latham refused to walk away. He knows how important it is to collect maximum marks from this series. If New Zealand have any chance to defend their World Test Championship (WTC) crown.
The team could not make it to the Halberg Awards, which recognize the top performers in New Zealand’s game, as they prepare for the match starting tomorrow in Christchurch. But, representing him in the event was his injured full-time captain Kane Williamson, who was also named Sportsman of the Year.
Latham said that the team was very happy to receive the honour :-
Latham said the team was delighted to receive the honour, and Williamson was proud of his award. They’ll all celebrate together when the time comes, but for now the focus is on “taking WTC points.”
“It’s very special to have that recognition for the year, but the period for us to win that Test championship was over,” Latham said at a pre-match media briefing. “It’s not just the team, it’s New Zealand Cricket’s wide network. We’re all trying to push for the same thing and that recognition was really special.
“Williamson is a quality player, we’ve seen that day in and day out, and that recognition for him is very special – not just for his game, but as a leader and a person as well. Nice. Given the chance But we will definitely celebrate with them.”
New Zealand: Currently at number six in the WTC points table :-
New Zealand are currently ranked sixth in the WTC points table with 46.66 percentage points from five matches. Their chances of reaching the final in 2023 were hit with a loss to Bangladesh at Mount Maunganui. But he won in two innings. Next, they have series in England and Pakistan, so Latham is keen to maximize the home advantage.
“Overall for us it’s about WTC and you get as many points as possible,” he said. “Points at home are really important. It’s very difficult to win at home in international cricket nowadays, so points in your own country are really important.”
Anything less than a defeat in Christchurch would have precluded New Zealand’s maiden Test series win over South Africa. But they will not play for a draw. “Yeah, if you look back a few years ago, where you know it wasn’t,” Latham said. “We had the series, if you win 1-0 that was good. But I think nowadays the WTC has been great for Test cricket. It just shows that you need to win every game, and that Tomorrow will be our challenge.”
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Growing Williamson’s elbow quite nicely :-
Williamson, who last played competitive cricket in November last year and has since been in rehab for a prolonged elbow injury, provided an update on his condition after receiving his Halberg Award. According to the New Zealand Herald, Williamson said, “It’s improving, it’s a bit of a long slog.” “Hopefully this time it gives it what it needs, it will be good to put it behind me.
“It looks like it’s making pretty good progress. My batting load has started building up a lot in the last short period. It’s looking positive.”
This was the second time Williamson was named Sportsman of the Year at Halbergs. He did the same in 2015. Former captain Brendon McCullum won the award in 2014 – one of two cricketers to have won the award since the turn of the century. Team of the year award was given to a cricket team for the first time. time since 1999.
