Kane Williamson steps down as New Zealand Test captain, will continue to play all three formats

Kane Williamson stepped down as New Zealand Test captain on Thursday. The 32-year-old captained the Kiwis for more than six years and even led them to the inaugural World Test Championship title.

Williamson however will continue the lead the ODI and T20 teams. Under his leadership, New Zealand played 40 Tests and won 22 of them with a win percentage of 55 while they lost 10 and drew 8 matches.

The New Zealand cricket board announced veteran fast bowler Tim Southee as a replacement for Williamson in the longest format.

"Captaining the Black Caps in Test cricket has been an incredibly special honour," said the 32-year-old Williamson who has led New Zealand since 2016.

"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 added.

Williamson further said that following talks with New Zealand Cricket, he will remain the captain of the white-ball team with two World Cups scheduled in the next two years. He will also continue to play all three formats. Eleven of his 24 Test hundreds came as a skipper which is a record for a New Zealand captain.

Williamson finished as the most successful New Zealand captain in terms of win percentage which was 55 under his leadership. He has the second most number of wins for a kiwi skipper behind Stephen Fleming who has 28 wins to his name.

Tim Southee to lead New Zealand in Pakistan Test series

Meanwhile, Southee will be leading the team in the upcoming tour of Pakistan with Tests in Karachi, starting on December 26, then in Multan beginning on January 3. Tom Latham has been confirmed as Southee's vice-captain having previously led the side in Williamson's absence.

Southee has played 346 internationals and has captained New Zealand's T20I side on 22 occasions. He has now become New Zealand's 31st Test captain.

"It's been a surreal few days and it's just a massive honour to be appointed as Test captain. I love Test cricket, it's the ultimate challenge and I'm really excited by the opportunity to lead the team in this format,” said Southee.