Latham and Southee win top awards

For the first time in seven years, the Black Caps’ premier batting award has been won by someone other than Kane Williamson or Ross Taylor.

Opener Tom Latham secured his first Redpath Cup yesterday, day two of New Zealand Cricket’s virtual awards for the 2019-20 season, as the country’s top firstclass batsman.

Senior swing bowler Tim Southee was a shoo-in as the Black Caps’ top bowler in test cricket and had his name etched on the Winsor Cup for the first time since 2014.

Latham scored 875 first-class runs in the awards period, and in nine tests scored 608 runs at an average of 40.53 as he was named opener in the International Cricket Council’s world test team of 2019.

His highlight was a matchdefining 154 against Sri Lanka in oppressive Colombo humidity in August, which spurred New Zealand to a series-levelling second test victory.

His run production slowed in five tests against Australia and India but he ended with dual knocks of 52 on his home ground Hagley Oval as the Black Caps swept the touring side 2-0.

Williamson and Taylor both had lean first-class seasons by their stellar standards, particularly the skipper who averaged just 28 in eight tests.

Taylor averaged a solid 39 in nine tests, including a solitary century against England at Hamilton and going on to overtake Stephen Fleming as New Zealand’s top test runscorer.

Southee secured his third Winsor Cup to end a five-year period of either Trent Boult or Neil Wagner winning the top bowling award.

After he was curiously omitted from the third test team against

Australia in Sydney, Southee stormed back at home with 14 wickets against India, the world’s top-ranked test side.

In eight tests in the awards period, Southee snared 40 wickets at 21.47 and was a key figure in victories in Colombo, Mount Maunganui (against England) and Wellington and Christchurch against Virat Kohli’s touring side.

In domestic cricket, Black Cap-in-waiting Devon Conway won his second successive men’s domestic player of the year award after topping all three runscoring charts for Wellington Firebirds.

Northern Spirit’s Katie Gurrey won women’s domestic cricketer of the year, and took out the Ruth Martin Cup for batting after she totalled 992 runs across the Hallyburton Johnstone Shield and Super Smash campaigns.

Title-winning Wellington Blaze seamer Jess Kerr was rewarded for her break-out season by winning the Phyl Blackler Cup for domestic bowling, after topping both the T20 wicket-taking tables with 20 wickets at an impressive average of 10.

The NZC awards continue today with the presentation of the one-day international and T20 international silverware.