(Reuters) - A sombre leadership handover decided half a world from home marked Tom Latham's rise to the New Zealand captaincy and provided a stark reminder of the funk the team finds itself in ahead of a daunting assignment in India.
Following a stinging 2-0 series loss away to Sri Lanka, out-of-form paceman Tim Southee decided he was no longer the man to lead a struggling squad while scratching around for wickets to keep his international career alive.
Having stood in as captain on nine previous occasions and with no stand-out candidates among his teammates, Latham was the obvious choice to take the reins from Southee.
However, there was little fanfare greeting the 32-year-old opening batsman's ascension as he returned home from south Asia with a heavy gloom engulfing the team.
Though appearing fatigued from the long-haul flight, Latham praised predecessor Southee while struggling to conjure enthusiasm for his permanent appointment as captain.
"I obviously feel very privileged to be given the opportunity and (with) luck we have plenty of leaders in the group," he told news website Stuff in an interview.
"I'll soon be leaning on them throughout my time, I would say."
A solid, if unspectacular, opener with an average of 39.41 from 82 tests, Latham has been a fixture at the top of New Zealand's batting order for a decade.
His career has coincided neatly with a golden era for New Zealand cricket driven by former skippers Brendon McCullum and Kane Williamson.
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Southee, New Zealand's second-most prolific wicket-taker in tests, was a key contributor to the Black Caps' success through the period and gamely took the captaincy mantle when Williamson stepped down in late 2022.
But the team he inherited was no longer the juggernaut that claimed the inaugural World Test Championship in 2021, with players retiring and others quitting internationals to focus on the more lucrative T20 franchise circuit.
Latham now takes over with the team at a lower ebb, with four successive test defeats racked up either side of the washed-out Afghanistan match.
Though still reliably producing runs at home and away, Latham may be frustrated with his failure to post a century in nearly two years to inspire his team.
Against India, which has now won a record 18 home test series in succession with their 2-0 defeat of Bangladesh, Latham will be under pressure to lead from the front in the three-match series starting in Bangalore on Oct. 16.
"It's obviously a great challenge that's ahead and I guess it's something to look forward to," he said.