New Zealand Opening Batsmen Break Test Match Milestones Versus West Indies

Cricket action
Tom Latham and Devon Conway have put New Zealand in a commanding position.

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

  • New Zealand 575-8 dec: 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 etched their names in the record books by becoming the first openers in Test match history to hit hundreds in both innings of a match, leaving the West Indies a daunting 462-run target for victory.

Latham scored 137 and 101 in this series decider, while Conway added to his mammoth 227 in the first innings with a composed 100 in the second.

The partnership had shared a colossal 323-run stand in the first innings, amassing 515 runs overall—a fresh benchmark for the highest aggregate an opening pair in a five-day game.

Furthermore, Conway joined an elite club in Test history to achieve a double century 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.

Game Situation

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

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

At the close of play, 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.

Daniel Armstrong
Daniel Armstrong

Eleanor Ashford is a literary scholar and editor specializing in modernist poetry and digital humanities.