All-rounder Mitchell Santner is leading New Zealand in the first Test of their two-match series against Zimbabwe.
For the first time in nine years, Zimbabwe and New Zealand are playing a Test series, their last encounter coming in 2016 when New Zealand won 2-0. Ahead of Wednesday’s series opener in Bulawayo, New Zealand suffered a major setback as captain Tom Latham was ruled out. White-ball skipper Santner is instead leading the side.
Santner has become New Zealand’s 32nd Test captain. He took over the white-ball leadership after Kane Williamson stepped down following last year’s T20 World Cup. He has led the team in 32 T20Is and 15 ODIs so far. Under his captaincy, New Zealand finished as runners-up in the 2025 Champions Trophy.
The 32nd man to lead New Zealand in the Test arena 🫡 #ZIMvNZ pic.twitter.com/dwNMFbUIKA
— BLACKCAPS (@BLACKCAPS) July 30, 2025
Why is Tom Latham unavailable?
Latham sustained a fielding injury earlier this month while playing for Birmingham Bears in the Vitality Blast, ruling him out of selection for the series opener. However, according to an official release, he will remain with the squad in hopes of recovering for the second Test, starting August 7.
"It's hugely disappointing for Tom to be missing the first Test, as captain but also as an integral part of the team," head coach Rob Walter said on the eve of opening day.
"It's never great when you lose your captain, who's a world-class opening batter and a great team man, but that said we're going to work really hard to have him available for the second Test. "We'll continue to assess and see whether a replacement player is necessary, but at this stage we are hopeful that he'll recover in time."
Before this Test, Santner – playing his 31st match – had no prior first-class captaincy experience. Zimbabwe elected to bat first at the toss but collapsed to 69-5, with Matt Henry claiming four wickets.
1st Test, Zimbabwe vs New Zealand
vs
- Ball by ball Over
Follow Wisden for all cricket updates, including live scores, match stats, quizzes and more. Stay up to date with the latest cricket news, player updates, team standings, match highlights, video analysis and live match odds.
