Tom Latham

National Team: New Zealand National Cricket Team ( TEST ODI T20I )

Date of Birth: 02.04.1992

Batting Style: Left Hand

Role: Batsman

Bowling Style: Right-arm Medium Seam

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Bowling

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All-rounder

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Test Rankings

30 679

ODI Rankings

49 646

T20I Rankings

504 395

Tom Latham – A Talented Batsman From New Zealand

Tom Latham is an international New Zealand cricketer who plays as an opening batter and wicketkeeper. He is the captain of the national side in the Test format. He was part of the team that won the ICC World Test Championship 2019-2021. He is also a two-time silver medalist with New Zealand at the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup in 2015 and 2019, as well as a finalist at the ICC Champions Trophy 2025. Let us take a closer look at this talented athlete and the career he has built.

Tom Latham: Biography and Sporting Career

Tom Latham (full name: Thomas William Maxwell Latham) was born on April 2, 1992, in Christchurch, Canterbury, New Zealand. The son of well-known cricketer Rod Latham, Tom quite literally grew up at the ground, soaking up every little detail of the game from an early age. It is not surprising that he chose to pursue a career in cricket, following in his father’s footsteps. Even though Rod was right-handed, Tom opted for a left-handed stance. That trait, combined with his role as an opening batter, makes him an extremely awkward customer for any bowler.

Tom Latham started sharpening his cricket skills at a fairly young age, taking after his older brother Matthew. Here is what the player himself said about his first experience with cricket in an interview with the New Zealand outlet Otago Daily Times:

“I’ve got a brother (Matt, a former New Zealand indoor cricket international) who’s 18 months older than me. We tended to get out there (on the backyard lawn). When my brother started playing cricket, I started playing in the same team. […] That was my first taste of playing cricket. I remember going down and watching dad at the end of his career. It was cool being around a cricket environment”.

While studying at Christchurch Boys’ High School, which is known for its strong sporting program, Tom kept balancing his education with appearances for local junior teams. His success at the regional level opened the door to the national setup: in 2010, he was officially included in New Zealand’s squad for the home U19 World Cup, where he backed up his status as a rising star. In particular, in a tense clash against Zimbabwe, Tom Latham showed real class and composure by scoring 57 runs off just 76 deliveries. That performance not only helped his team get over the line but also earned him the official Player of the Match award.

Tom Latham’s international debut for New Zealand came in three stages between 2012 and 2014. First came the ODI format on February 3, 2012, followed by T20I on February 11, 2012, both against Zimbabwe. His debut in the most prestigious format of all, Test cricket, came two years later, on February 14, 2014, in a match against India. We will not bog this text down with detailed scorecards from his performances and will instead highlight the most notable achievements of his career:

• 2014 – scored his maiden Test century: 103 against Pakistan in Abu Dhabi on November 9;
• 2015 – ODI World Cup runner-up with New Zealand (final against Australia);
• 2016 – became the first New Zealander to carry his bat through an innings in an ODI against India;
• 2018 – set a world record: 264 against Sri Lanka in Wellington. It remains the highest Test score ever made by an opener;
• 2019 – ODI World Cup runner-up once again (final against England);
• 2021 – member of the team that won the ICC World Test Championship 2019-2021 (final against India in Southampton);
• 2024 – appointed permanent captain of New Zealand’s Test side and became the first New Zealand captain in history to win a 3-0 series against India on Indian soil;
• 2025 – ICC Champions Trophy runner-up in the ODI format with the national team.

On top of that, by 2026 Latham had scored 22 international centuries, moving past the legendary Martin Crowe on that count. He also went past the 6,000-run mark in Test cricket, becoming the fifth player in New Zealand history to do so, and crossed 10,000 runs across all international formats, making him the eighth New Zealander ever to hit that milestone. He has been named to the ICC Teams of the Year more than once, in both Tests and ODIs. He is also a multiple winner of the Redpath Cup, the award presented to the best first-class batter in New Zealand.

Tom is still going strong. His latest matches came in Test cricket in December 2025, in ODI cricket in November 2025, and in T20I very recently on March 15, 2026, against South Africa. As for domestic cricket, the player continues to represent his home region of Canterbury in all domestic tournaments: the Plunket Shield, Ford Trophy and Super Smash. In the 2025 season, he played for Warwickshire in England. He got started late because of a fractured finger but still kicked things off with a century in his very first match. Tom Latham may not be the flashiest Kiwi cricketer of the last decade, but he has definitely been one of the most important.

Tom Latham: Personal Life and Interesting Facts

Tom Latham’s personal life is a model of stability and calm, which fits his reputation on the field perfectly. He tries to shield his family from too much media attention, but from time to time he shares key moments on social media. Tom is married to Nicole McAuley. The couple had been together for many years before officially tying the knot in September 2019. Tom Latham also has a son, Angus Jack Latham, who was born in July 2021.

To wrap things up, here is a small list of interesting facts about the player, along with his playing statistics:

• Tom and Nicole are animal lovers. They have a golden retriever named Toby, who often pops up in the cricketer’s family photos;
• Like many New Zealanders, Tom is a huge rugby fan. He was seriously involved in the sport as a child and still keeps a close eye on the performances of the All Blacks and the local club Crusaders;
• Latham is officially involved in a number of community projects and serves, in particular, as an ambassador for the Māia Health Foundation.

Tom is active on social media: Instagram – @tomlatham2, X – @Tomlatham2 and Facebook – @tomlathamofficial. He is not your typical influencer and mostly uses his pages to post about professional achievements, photos from team camps, and the occasional family snap.