Auckland, July 17 : New Zealand wicketkeeper batter Tom Latham is open to the prospect of taking white-ball captaincy following Kane Williamson's decision to step down from the role.

Following New Zealand's abrupt exit from the T20 World Cup in the Caribbean, Williamson has decided to opt out of his New Zealand Cricket central contract, resulting in the team being without a white-ball captain.

Having previously captained the team in Williamson's absence, Latham is the leading candidate to assume the white-ball captaincy roles. The wicketkeeper has expressed his willingness to lead his country on a full-time basis.

"It would obviously be a real honour," Latham told reporters on Wednesday. "For me it's always been about trying to put the team first as best as possible and I'm sure they'll have those discussions around what they want from a team point of view and certainly if I get the opportunity to do that it would be really special," he said.

Latham is not the only contender for the captaincy, as Test captain Tim Southee could also be considered for the role across all three formats. However, head coach Gary Stead said the management hadn't reached the final stage of selection but Latham name was definitely in discussion.

"It's something that Sam Wells and I will talk about in the next little while. We're not at the stage of confirming it yet, so I don't want to speculate whether Tom will be or not. But he's certainly one guy that will be in discussions around that role.

"The important thing is whoever is in place, we want in place for two to three years or so, leading to that next World Cup. That will be one of the important decision-making factors that we discuss," the head coach said.

Soon after a disappointing T20 World Cup campaign last month, along with Williamson, Lockie Ferguson and Adam Milne have also declined their central contracts, with Williamson taking up a casual contract instead.

"Think at the moment where cricket's going in New Zealand is slightly different. It's certainly not a black and white situation, and certainly changing with all these leagues popping up. Guess everyone is in a slightly different boat in what their future may look like depending on their age or stage they are in life," said Latham.

The 32-year-old noted that while the flexible contract system has been effective since its inception, the increasing number of T20 leagues and the evolving cricket landscape may necessitate a review by the board and the players' association.

"Don't know what the right system is, there is a lot of flexibility within our contracts at the moment, but I think with the changing landscape of cricket I'm sure it will be something that New Zealand Cricket and the players' association look at and try and come up with something," he said.

"We've seen over many years now, at times we haven't had those senior guys. That gives me an opportunity as a senior player to step up and lead as well. But also other guys who haven't necessarily had opportunities in the past to step up in different leadership roles. It's never great when you miss guys of Kane's calibre, but it gives opportunities to other guys to put their best foot forward," said Latham.

/IANS