New Zealand Openers Shatter Test Match Records Versus West Indies

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

Third Test, Mount Maunganui (day four 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, setting the West Indies a record 462-run target for victory.

Latham scored 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 colossal 323-run stand in the first innings, amassing 515 runs overall—a new record for the highest aggregate an opening pair in a five-day game.

Furthermore, Conway became just the 10th batter in Test history to score a double century and a century in the same match.

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

Match Context

Earlier on day four, the Windies were bowled out for 420, trailing by 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 declaration, leaving the visitors a formidable target of 462 to win and square the series.

At the stumps, West Indies openers had reached 43-0, with John Campbell digging in to score two runs from 50 balls, while Brandon King made 37.

Michael Williams
Michael Williams

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