Captain of the Canterbury Under 19 side, Tom Latham, is the first Canterbury Player to take part in the exchange programme with Durham County Cricket Club. The programme, set up by Canterbury Cricket’s Network Coach Paul Wiseman, hosted nineteen year old Scott Borthwick in Christchurch during the summer and Tom will be the first player to make the European leg of the journey. With his travel experiences limited to a three week stint in India as part of the Willows Tour two years ago, eighteen year old Tom knows this will be a big change for him. ‘Leaving my family and mates was really hard. They were all at the airport to farewell me which made it even harder! I just finished high school last year and have never lived away from home so not only will I be moving into my first flatting situation I will be doing it in a foreign country. This will be a fantastic experience for me and I know I will do a lot of growing up over the next six months.’
Departing Christchurch on April 9 bound for Durham, Tom picked up two stamps for his passport along the way in Sydney and Dubai, and arrived in Durham after twenty-eight hours in the air. His final destination was the village of Ryton, halfway between Durham and Newcastle, and the place he will call home for the next six months. ‘The wee village I am living in is nice and quiet. The houses and streets are really close together and people park on the footpath. I am living in a small two bedroom place with the Video Analyst for the Durham 1st XI. He has My Sky which has been great for catching the Twenty20’s while I am away! I have also done a bit of cooking, cleaning and washing which I never do at home!’
On the cricket front Tom is enjoying a good level of competition. Playing mostly for his club Gateshead Fell he is following in some huge footsteps as old boys include Australia’s Marcus North, West Indian batsman Richie Richardson and our own Chris Martin. He is also playing a few games for the Durham County Cricket Club Academy and 2nd XI. ‘The amount of cricket is so much more compared with back home. I have only been over here for a month and have already played ten games but it is really good and it is keeping me busy!’
Racking up scores like 100*, 94* and 79* with the bat Tom has clearly found his feet within his teams ‘things with the bat are going well. I am also doing some keeping and fielding, my fielding is improving and keeping is going really well.’ Wiseman has been making the most of technology available to keep an eye on Tom’s cricket. By speaking with him weekly on Skype as well as using a virtual coaching video system he is able to view his development and offer extra tips to support the Durham coaching staff and he is impressed with what he has seen so far ‘I am not only pleased with the results Tom has been registering on the field but also the mature manner in which he has been achieving them. Two of the biggest lessons he has learnt so far is to bat on the varied surfaces and to take responsibility as the professional for his club.’
With a heavy playing schedule Tom has yet to get out and see the sights but is looking forward to taking a few trips when he has a break in his schedule. ‘I have not managed to do much travelling as I haven’t had a lot of spare time. I have tripped into Newcastle a few times and I am looking forward to going further afield. Whenever I do go somewhere I always pull out my camera so all the boys think I am a real tourist.’
It is important to note that Tom’s development has not been limited to the cricket oval either; he is developing in all aspects of life. He has said it is weird not having his car which he has come to rely on and has had to adapt to this change ‘the one thing I need to mention is that I am now able to catch a bus! I never use buses back home but I am basically on one everyday now.’
Canterburycricket.org.nz will catch up with Tom again in the coming weeks to keep up to date with how things are going both on and off the field for him.
* Image of Tom Latham batting for the New Zealand U19s
