Kane Williamson has stepped down as New Zealand’s Test captain and has been replaced by Tim Southee, New Zealand Cricket said yesterday.
After taking charge in 2016 Williamson captained New Zealand in 40 Tests with 22 wins, 10 defeats and eight draws, and led the team to victory over India in the inaugural World Test Championship final last year.
“For me, Test cricket is the pinnacle of the game and I’ve enjoyed the challenges of leading the side in the format,” Williamson said. “Captaincy comes with an increased workload on and off the field, and at this stage of my career I feel the time is right for this decision.”
Photo: AFP
Williamson is to remain New Zealand’s white-ball captain and he said he would continue to play in all three formats.
Southee, who stood in as captain for 22 T20 internationals from 2017 to last year, is to lead the Test team on their next assignment, a two-match series in Pakistan starting this month.
“It’s been a surreal few days and it’s just a massive honor to be appointed as Test captain,” Southee said. “I love Test cricket, it’s the ultimate challenge and I’m really excited by the opportunity to lead the team in this format.”
Photo: Reuters
BANGLADESH-INDIA
Reuters
Spinner Kuldeep Yadav and seamer Mohammed Siraj yesterday wreaked havoc with the ball, sharing seven Bangladesh wickets between them to put India in the box seat in the opening Test in Chittagong.
Kuldeep’s career-best 40 had already helped India post 404 in their first innings after resuming day 2 on 278-6.
When they returned, Siraj (3-14) wrecked Bangladesh’s top order before Kuldeep (4-33) joined the party to leave the home side reeling at 133-8 at stumps, still 271 behind.
Mehidy Hasan (16), Bangladesh’s last recognized batsman, and Ebadot Hossain (13) will hope they can produce something special to try and avoid the follow-on when they resume batting on day 3 today.
Earlier, Ravichandran Ashwin (58) and Kuldeep dashed Bangladesh’s hopes of quickly polishing off the India tail when play resumed at the Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium, combining in an 87-run stand to help India past the 400-mark.
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