New Zealand Openers Rewrite Test Milestones Against West Indies

Cricket action
Tom Latham and Devon Conway have established a formidable advantage for their team.

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 first openers in Test cricket to hit hundreds in each innings of a match, setting the West Indies a record 462-run target for victory.

Latham posted 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 put on a colossal 323-run stand in the first innings, totaling 515 runs overall—a unprecedented total for the highest aggregate an opening pair in a Test.

Furthermore, Conway entered rare company in Test history to score a double century and a hundred in the identical game.

He followed 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 bowled out for 420, facing a deficit of 155 runs, before Latham and Conway returned to bat.

Along with knocks 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 formidable 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.

Lisa White
Lisa White

Lena is a freelance journalist specializing in Dutch urban culture, history, and community stories. She has been reporting on Tilburg for over a decade.