Kane Williamson stands down as New Zealand Test captain; Tim Southee announced as replacement

Williamson, who will remain in charge of the Blackcaps' limited-over teams, has reiterated his intention to continue in all formats

Kane Williamson has stepped down as New Zealand's Test captain after 40 matches in charge, with Tim Southee replacing his long-time teammate in the role.

Williamson, who will remain in charge of the Blackcaps' limited-over teams, is not retiring from Test cricket and has reiterated his intention to continue in all formats.

Williamson described Test cricket as "the pinnacle of the game" and led New Zealand to glory in the inaugural World Test Championship in 2021.

"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," he said.

"After discussions with NZC, we felt that continuing to captain the white-ball formats was preferable with two World Cups in the next two years."

His replacement, Southee, will become his country's 31st Test captain when New Zealand face Pakistan later this month. He has made 346 international appearances across formats and has previously captained in 22 T20Is; he called the process of his appointment as a rare bowling captain "a surreal few days". Tom Latham, who has skippered the Test side in Williamson's absence, has been named as Southee's deputy.

Williamson won 22 of his Tests in charge and hit 11 of his Test centuries as captain, averaging 57 in the process, three more than Martin Crowe, the only other New Zealand captain to average more than 50. Of the players worldwide who captained in more than 40 Tests, only Brian Lara had a higher batting average.

^{Williamson led New Zealand to glory in the World Test Championship (Alex Davidson/Getty Images)}

"Kane is one of our all-time greats and our priority is to ensure he enjoys his cricket and plays for New Zealand for as long as possible," added David White, New Zealand Cricket's chief executive.

"He's a brilliant leader and the success the team has achieved during his time in the longest and arguably toughest format of the game, has been nothing short of remarkable.

"Statistically, he's the most successful Test captain we've ever had."

Gary Stead, New Zealand's head coach, said: "We hope by lessening his workload we can continue to see the best of Kane Williamson for longer on the international stage, and we know he will remain a key leader in this group.

"Tim's a quality leader with a good cricket brain. We've seen his captaincy skills on display with the T20 side and I’m sure he'll continue to bring an aggressive style, whilst still maintaining the core fundamentals of how this Blackcaps team operates in the Test arena.

"He will also come from a slightly different perspective in being a bowler which I'm sure will also bring with it new ideas and fresh thinking."

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