The test captain, Tom Latham, has been ruled out of the first test of the New Zealand tour of Zimbabwe 2025 due to a shoulder injury, with Mitchell Santner set to lead the side in the former’s absence.

Latham suffered an injury while fielding in a domestic T20 game in England and hasn’t been deemed fit enough to feature in the playing 11.

The left-handed will continue to remain with the squad, with the hope that he regains full fitness ahead of the second test hoping to regain full fitness ahead of the second test.

Mitchell Santner has scored 1066 runs and 74 wickets from his 30 tests, which oversaw New Zealand’s T20 tri-series victory in Harare, where they remained undefeated throughout the five-match series.

Speaking on Latham’s injury, New Zealand head coach Rob Walter said, “It’s hugely disappointing for Tom to be missing the first test, as captain but also as an integral part of the team.”

“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.”

Speakin on Santner, Walter said, “Mitch did a wonderful job with the T20 squad in this recent series,” Walter said. “He was excellent from a strategy point of view and he has a strong understanding of the game.

“Whilst the format is different, he certainly has the respect of the players and will be supported by some highly experienced test cricketers, so I trust that he’s going to do a great job.”

The first match of the series will be played between July 30 and August 3 at Queens Sports Club.