New Zealand Opening Batsmen Rewrite Test Match Records Versus WI
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 etched their names in the record books by becoming the initial opening pair in Test cricket to register tons in each innings of a match, setting the West Indies a record 462-run target for victory.
Latham notched up 137 and 101 in this series decider, while Conway added to his mammoth 227 in the first innings with a precise 100 in the second.
The duo had shared a massive 323-run stand in the first innings, combining for 515 runs overall—a fresh benchmark for the highest aggregate an opening pair in a Test.
Furthermore, Conway became just the 10th batter in Test history to achieve a double hundred and a hundred in the same match.
He emulated legends like Greg Chappell, Sunil Gavaskar, Graham Gooch, Brian Lara, and Kumar Sangakkara in achieving this extraordinary feat.
Match Context
Earlier on day four, the Windies were dismissed for 420, trailing by 155 runs, before Latham and Conway resumed their partnership.
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, leaving 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 digging in to score two runs from 50 balls, while Brandon King made 37.
