‘Credit to him this week’ – Tom Latham talks about Matt Henry’s rise in New Zealand team after win against England

New Zealand captain Tom Latham sang Matt Henry‘s praise after the fast bowler played a pivotal part in guiding his side to a 253-run victory over England in the second Test at the Oval. The 34-year-old took 11 wickets for the match, including six in the second innings, to help the Black Caps level the series 1-1 and win Player of the Match. 

Latham believes that Henry was a victim of New Zealand’s pace-attacking prowess during the early stages of his international career, having been forced to play behind greats like Tim Southee and Trent Boult in the Test side. 

“If you look at the start of his career, the personnel that we had – with the likes of Boult, Southee, [Neil] Wagner, [Colin] de Grandhomme – made it a little bit hard for Henners to squeeze into that team. He was someone that was always in our squad… but those opportunities were reasonably rare,” Latham said via ESPNcricinfo. 

Things have, however, changed in recent times with Henry becoming the leader of New Zealand’s fast bowling attack, as seen during their win over England. The right-arm fast bowler plans to call wicketkeeper Tom Blundell up to the stumps, which helped him take nine out of his 11 wickets, with batters glued to the crease and falling for his inswinging deliveries. His match figures of 11 for 109 are the best in his 35-match-long Test career. 

“Since he’s been able to take the new ball, being the leader of the attack, he’s certainly gone from strength to strength. He’s obviously been an absolute weapon for us. He’s been so consistent, so accurate, and in the game of Test cricket – when you need to do things for long periods of time – he’s someone that’s able to do that. Credit to him this week,” Latham added. 

Henry’s Test career has currently seen him take 152 wickets, which is the highest amongst all the active New Zealand players. His average of 26.04 is only bettered by the great Sir Richard Hadlee amongst bowlers who have taken more than 100 scalps in the longest format of the game.