Surrey bring in Tom Latham to offset Ashes batting absences

The New Zealander will arrive for five County Championship games at the same time as Surrey are set to lose Ollie Pope and Ben Foakes for England duty

Surrey have planned ahead for the anticipated loss of two of their top six for Ashes duty by signing New Zealand batter Tom Latham for the midpart of the summer.

Ollie Pope and Ben Foakes are both expected to be part of England's plans for the one-off Test against Ireland and the subsequent Ashes series through June and July, so they have offset that double loss by announcing the acquisition of Latham for the five County Championship fixtures through that period.

Latham is set to debut on June 11 against Kent, with the final game of his stint beginning on July 25, when Surrey visit Somerset.

The left-hander is New Zealand's Test and ODI vice-captain and also adds a wicketkeeping option, though Jamie Smith is perhaps likelier to take over behind the stumps should both Foakes and Pope be called up by Brendon McCullum.

"Surrey has a rich history and having the opportunity to play at one of the world's best cricket venues in The Oval is something I'm relishing," said Latham. "I'm looking forward to joining Rory (Burns), Gareth (Batty) and the team and doing as much as I can to help them successfully defend the Championship this year."

^{Latham has previously played county cricket for Durham (Harry Trump/Getty Images)}

Surrey are already without Hashim Amla this season, with the South African having announced his retirement in January. His exit was somewhat offset, though, by the return of Dom Sibley from Warwickshire; he is set to reprise his opening partnership with Rory Burns, while Pope is set to bat at No.3 when the club begin their County Championship title defence at Lancashire this week.

Latham will effectively fill the overseas void left by Kemar Roach, who is contracted initially for the first six games of the summer, though The Cricketer understands that a return later in the season, as happened in 2022, is not out of the question.

Surrey director of cricket Alec Stewart added: "I'm looking forward to welcoming Tom to the Kia Oval. He is an international cricketer with a wealth of experience who will add to the quality of our batting line up at a time when we are highly likely to lose players to England for The Ashes.

"As we look to build on the success of 2022, it is important we can bring in quality talent when we need it. I'm confident Tom will be an outstanding addition to the squad of players we already have in place."

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