Mitchell Santner, Tom Latham to share captaincy duties in home series against South Africa

New Zealand have decided to split captaincy duties between Mitchell Santner and Tom Latham during the course of their upcoming five-match T20I series against South Africa at home starting Sunday, March 15 at Bay Oval in Tauranga.

Santner and several other players who were a part of New Zealand's T20 World Cup squad will be given breaks during the series against the Proteas as part of their workload management. While Santner and Devon Conway will only be available for the first three games, fast bowler Lockie Ferguson will be available for selection for the second and third T20Is.

On the other hand, Kyle Jamieson, Cole McConchie, Jimmy Neesham, Ben Sears, and Ish Sodhi will be available for the entire series due to their lighter workload during the marquee ICC tournament.

Top-order batters Nick Kelly and Katene Clarke have earned their maiden call-ups, whereas slow left-arm orthodox bowler Jayden Lennox, who impressed during the three-match ODI series against India in January, has earned his maiden T20 call-up.

Clarke has been rewarded for his exceptional performance during the 2025-26 Super Smash season. Clarke aggregated 431 runs in 10 games at an average of 61.57 and a strike rate of 171.71, helping Northern Districts clinch the title. His memorable campaign was laced with a century and three fifties.

"Katene is someone we've been keeping an eye on for a while now and so it was great to see him shoot the lights out in the Super Smash and force his way into his first BLACKCAPS squad," BLACKCAPS selector Gavin Larsen said in a release issued by NZC.

"He's an explosive player who possesses plenty of power and a variety of shots. He’s shown destructive ability inside the power play, but also crucially the ability to bat deep in an innings too."

Tom Latham returns to T20I squad 

Meanwhile, Latham is slated to play his first T20I game for the first time in almost three years, with his last T20I appearance coming against Pakistan in Rawalpindi on April 24, 2023.

The southpaw finished as the leading run-getter for Canterbury during the Super Smash with 237 runs in eight matches. He averaged 33.85 and batted at a strike rate of 156.95, scoring two half-centuries.

Spin-bowling allrounder Michael Bracewell (calf), Adam Milne (ankle), Blair Tickner (ankle), and Will O'Rourke (back) were not considered for selection as they continue on their road to recovery.

Bevon Jacobs, who equaled Devon Conway's record for the most consecutive fifties (5) by a Kiwi in men's T20 cricket during the Super Smash 2025-26 season, has also been picked in the squad and will draw plenty of attention as he will be going toe to toe against his country of birth for only the second time in his career.

The five-match series will take place as part of double-header match days, running alongside the White Ferns vs South Africa women’s five-match T20I series, giving New Zealand fans the opportunity to see all four teams compete on the same day.

New Zealand's squad for South Africa series:

Mitchell Santner (c) (1-3), Katene Clarke (4-5), Josh Clarkson, Dane Cleaver (wk) (4-5), Devon Conway (wk) (1-3), Lockie Ferguson (2-3), Zak Foulkes, Bevon Jacobs, Kyle Jamieson, Nick Kelly, Tom Latham (capt) (4-5), Jayden Lennox (4-5), Cole McConchie, Jimmy Neesham, Tim Robinson, Ben Sears, Nathan Smith, Ish Sodhi

New Zealand vs South Africa five-match T20I series schedule (Men and Women):

Note:
Women’s matches will start at 2:45 PM (local time), while the men’s games will begin at 7:15 PM (local time).