Latham to lead New Zealand with Williamson on paternity leave

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Tom Latham, who has captained New Zealand in one Test previously, will take the reins for the Wellington match against West Indies as Kane Williamson heads home for the birth of his child.

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New Zealand's hunt for crucial ICC World Test Championship points will proceed under the leadership of Latham, who made his captaincy debut earlier this year in the Sydney Test against Australia.

The hosts, ranked No.2 in the world, won the first game in Hamilton convincingly and will be confident of putting on another strong show against West Indies, who are placed eighth in the MRF Tyres ICC Test Team Rankings, in the second Test starting Friday, 11 December.

Kane Williamson will miss the second #NZvWI Test and will return to Tauranga for the birth of his first child 👶

Tom Latham is set to lead the @BLACKCAPS in his absence. pic.twitter.com/K1oXcrbhQm
— ICC (@ICC) December 10, 2020

Importantly, a win will see New Zealand edge past England in the World Test Championship points table and boost their chances of making the inuaugural final of the event.

Williamson, who was his team's top run-scorer in the first Test of the series with a career-best 251, will head home to Tauraunga for the birth of his first child.

The second #NZvWI Test in Wellington will be Neil Wagner's 5️⃣0️⃣th in the format 💥#DidYouKnow he has the second-best bowling strike-rate for any 🇳🇿 bowler with 100 Test wickets 👀 pic.twitter.com/UL3HxhQDzZ
— ICC (@ICC) December 10, 2020

"I guess it's the best decision for him [Williamson] and Sarah, and also for our team in the long term in terms of him being in a good place as well," said New Zealand coach Gary Stead on Thursday.

After the conclusion of the series against West Indies, New Zealand are scheduled to play Pakistan in three T20Is from 18-22 December followed by a two-Test series, which gets underway on 26 December. It is unclear as to when Williamson will be available for selection again.