New Zealand Openers Shatter Test Match Milestones Against WI

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

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 achieved a historic first by becoming the first openers in Test cricket to register tons in each innings of a match, setting the West Indies a record 462-run target for victory.

Latham posted 137 and 101 in this third and final Test, while Conway added to his mammoth 227 in the first innings with a precise 100 in the second.

The pair had shared a colossal 323-run stand in the first innings, totaling 515 runs overall—a unprecedented total for the most runs by an opening pair in a single Test match.

Furthermore, Conway became just the 10th batter in Test history to score 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 achieving this notable 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 openers propelled their side to 306-2 before a sporting declaration, setting 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 made 37.

James Padilla
James Padilla

A digital transformation strategist with over a decade of experience in helping businesses leverage technology for scalable growth and innovation.