New Zealand Openers Break Test Milestones Against West Indies

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

Final Test, Mount Maunganui (day four 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 made history by becoming the initial opening pair in Test cricket to score centuries in each innings of a match, setting the West Indies a massive 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 pair had shared a massive 323-run stand in the first innings, amassing 515 runs overall—a fresh benchmark for the most runs by an opening pair in a Test.

Furthermore, Conway became just the 10th batter in Test history to score a double hundred and a century in the identical game.

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

Match Context

Earlier on day four, the Windies were dismissed for 420, facing a deficit of 155 runs, before Latham and Conway again took to the crease.

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

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

Shawn Torres
Shawn Torres

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