New Zealand captain Tom Latham marked his Warwickshire debut with a century on the opening day (May 9) of the 2025 County Championship match against Surrey.
After being put in to bat first at Edgbaston, Warwickshire openers Rob Yates and captain Alex Davies provided a solid start, taking the score to 70. Davies fell for 45 in the 20th over, bringing in Latham for his first Championship match with the county. Latham looked assured at the crease, reaching his century in the 73rd over with a cover-drive off Surrey seamer Tom Lawes to complete the landmark with a double.
Latham’s innings was a tale of two halves. After reaching his fifty off 105 balls – a vigil spanning over two hours featuring four fours and a six – the left-hander accelerated sharply, scoring his next 50 runs at nearly a run-a-ball pace (56 deliveries), smashing eight more boundaries in the process.
An ideal start to life at Warwickshire for Tom Latham pic.twitter.com/F4fe8QaQbd
— Rothesay County Championship (@CountyChamp) May 9, 2025
Yates scored 86, Sam Hain 26, and Beau Webster 15 – with Latham being the common denominator, partnering each of them in stands of 112, 69, and 30 runs respectively.
Latham was signed by Warwickshire in late November after captaining New Zealand to a historic 3-0 Test whitewash in India. With New Zealand’s schedule barely overlapping the English summer, he signed a one-year, all-format deal with the Bears. Warwickshire, who finished seventh in Division One of the 2024 Championship, targeted Latham to bolster their batting unit following the departures of Will Rhodes and Chris Benjamin, as well as Michael Burgess’ sudden retirement. This is his fourth county, having previously represented Kent, Durham and defending champions Surrey, for whom he played five matches in 2023.
His arrival was delayed by a month after suffering a broken finger while batting in the nets with his domestic club side Canterbury ahead of a Plunket Shield game in Wellington.
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