New Zealand Openers Shatter Test Milestones Versus WI

Cricket action
Tom Latham and Devon Conway have given the Kiwis a dominant lead.

Final Test, Mount Maunganui (the fourth day of five)

  • New Zealand 575 for 8 declared: Conway 227, Latham 137 and 306-2 dec: Latham 101, Conway 100
  • West Indies 420: Hodge 123 and 43-0

New Zealand's Tom Latham and Devon Conway made history by becoming the first openers in Test cricket to register tons in each innings of a match, leaving the West Indies a daunting 462-run target for victory.

Latham notched up 137 and 101 in this series decider, while Conway built upon his mammoth 227 in the first innings with a composed 100 in the second.

The duo had put on a massive 323-run stand in the first innings, totaling 515 runs overall—a new record for the most runs by an opening pair in a five-day game.

Furthermore, Conway joined an elite club in Test history to achieve a double hundred and a century in the identical game.

He emulated legends like Greg Chappell, Sunil Gavaskar, Graham Gooch, Brian Lara, and Kumar Sangakkara in securing this notable feat.

Match Context

Earlier on day four, the Windies were dismissed for 420, trailing by 155 runs, before Latham and Conway returned to bat.

Along with contributions from Kane Williamson (40) and Rachin Ravindra (46), the New Zealand top order propelled their side to 306-2 before a declaration, leaving the visitors a near-impossible target of 462 to win and level the series.

At the stumps, West Indies openers had navigated to 43-0, with John Campbell showing great patience to score two runs from 50 balls, while Brandon King made 37.

Robert Richardson
Robert Richardson

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