Latham And I Knew We Were In A Little Bit Of Trouble: Young On Pakistan Clash

New Zealand did not get off to the best start possible in their Champions Trophy 2025 opener against Pakistan on February 19 in Karachi. The BlackCaps lost wickets at regular intervals, finding themselves in all sorts of trouble at 73/3 when Tom Latham walked out to bat. 

Latham’s recent form hadn’t been the best, but luckily for him, the 56 against Pakistan just before the start of the Champions Trophy gave him much-needed confidence. Batting with Will Young, Latham stitched up a 125-run partnership, which soaked up the pressure before putting it back on Pakistan.

"To be completely honest with you, Tommy [Latham] and I knew we were in a little bit of trouble three down. We didn't want to look too far ahead and start talking past scores and things like that. We wanted to get to 30 overs, three down. That was our first goal," Young revealed in the post-match press conference.

"Then the next phase was to the 35th over, and then I got out after that. But when I came off, I think I got out in the 38th over, I was saying to the boys I thought 280 was a really good total,” he added. 

It was a theme throughout the New Zealand batting as they looked to build up small but valuable partnerships like the 33-run stand between Daryl Mitchell and Young. It continued later on, too, when Glenn Phillips stitched up a match-winning stand with Latham, where they added  125 runs. 

"One thing our batting unit talked about is creating partnerships throughout our innings, and it was only a small partnership with Dev [Devon], but we got the ball rolling, and unfortunately, we lost Kane early and Daryl [Mitchell] not long after that,” he said. 

“So Tommy and I talked about building a partnership and just felt like Pakistan got 3-4 dot balls and we managed to get a boundary not long after and it just kept the momentum of the innings going. And then I think we got to where we wanted to after 30 overs and I felt with Tommy - we both felt that the game was in the balance at that point, 140 odd for 3 after 30 overs," Young added. 

Eventually, New Zealand posted 320, a score that seemed well above par on a surface that seemed two-paced for most parts of the 50 overs. However, given the recent past, where Pakistan chased down 353 in the tri-series clash against South Africa, they couldn’t afford to take any risk with the ball. 

"If the seamers hit a good length, it was difficult. The odd ball was going down. We saw from the Pakistan spinners as well that when they slowed the ball up, especially, it would hold in the surface and there was a bit of turn there. And when they fired it through a little bit quicker, it was skiddy.”

Matt Henry’s partnership with Will O’Rourke ultimately meant that Pakistan were on the backfoot at 22/2 in the powerplay, one of the worst powerplay scores in Champions Trophy history. It was only natural that New Zealand were going to end up victors, as the BlackCaps won their first clash with a margin of 60 runs, extending their golden run in ODIs. 

“So, it wasn't easy. And I thought 280 was a good score. And obviously, the way GP [Glenn Phillips] and Tommy got things going, it was just brilliant the way that they finished off the innings. And to get to 320, we all felt that we were slightly ahead of the game at that point. But in the same breath, as you say, Pakistan chased down 350 on the same wicket. So, we knew we had to start well, and thankfully we did that and managed to keep it going," Young concluded. 

New Zealand now have to travel to Rawalpindi on February 24 to face Bangladesh in their second group-stage clash.