A big change in New Zealand cricket occurred early this morning. As the all-time skipper, Kane Williamson’s Captaincy came to a demise in Test Cricket. The official New Zealand social handles confirmed the news. Moreover, Tim Southee is all set to take up the leadership roles for the Blackcaps in the longest format of the game.
Further, Tim Latham has been named as NZ’s Test vice-captain, after previously leading the side in Williamson’s absence.
Keep Points on Kane Williamson’s Captaincy
The 32-year-old Williamson has been the kiwi captain for years now. He has led the NZ Test team on 38 occasions in which they won 22, lost 10, and faced a draw in 8. Williamson is the most successful Test captain for his side. During his era as the captain, Williamson led NZ to win the ICC World Test Championship Final in June, 2021, that too against the number one Test team India.
While Williamson succeeded in the leadership role after Brendon McCullum in 2016, now Tim Southee will be his successor. Tim Southee is no stranger to captaincy skills. He has led the T20 side in 22 sightings. And will become New Zealand’s 31st Test Captain when he leads the kiwi squad on this month’s Test tour to Pakistan.
However, Williamson will continue to lead the Kiwi in T20I as well as ODI formats. Additionally, he is too young to think about retirement, so he desires to play all three formats internationally.
See what Williamson had to say
“Captaining the BLACKCAPS in Test cricket has been an incredibly special honour,” he said.
“For me, Test cricket is the pinnacle of the game and I’ve enjoyed the challenges of leading the side in
the format. Captaincy comes with an increased workload on and off the field and at this stage of my career I feel the time is right for this decision,” the batter added.
“After discussions with NZC, we felt that continuing to captain the white-ball formats was preferable
with two World Cups in the next two years. I’m excited to support Tim as captain and Tom as vice captain. Having played with both of them for most of my career, I’m confident they’ll do a great job. Playing for the BLACKCAPS and contributing in all three formats is my number one priority and I’m looking forward to the cricket we have ahead,” he concluded.
Thank you for reading.
