New Zealand Openers Rewrite Test Match Milestones Versus WI

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

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 made history by becoming the first openers in Test cricket to register tons in both innings of a match, leaving the West Indies a massive 462-run target for victory.

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

The partnership had put on a massive 323-run stand in the first innings, totaling 515 runs overall—a new record for the highest aggregate an opening pair in a Test.

Furthermore, Conway joined an elite club in Test history to achieve a double century and a hundred 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 resumed their partnership.

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, setting the visitors a formidable target of 462 to win and level the series.

At the close of play, 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.

Jason Franklin
Jason Franklin

A tech journalist and futurist with over a decade of experience covering emerging technologies and digital transformation across Europe.