NZ Opening Batsmen Rewrite Test Match Milestones Versus West Indies
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 initial opening pair in Test cricket to register tons in each innings of a match, leaving the West Indies a daunting 462-run target for victory.
Latham posted 137 and 101 in this series decider, while Conway built upon his mammoth 227 in the first innings with a precise 100 in the second.
The partnership had put on 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 single Test match.
Furthermore, Conway joined an elite club in Test history to achieve a double century and a hundred in the same match.
He followed legends like Greg Chappell, Sunil Gavaskar, Graham Gooch, Brian Lara, and Kumar Sangakkara in securing this extraordinary feat.
Game Situation
Earlier on day four, the Windies were bowled out for 420, trailing by 155 runs, before Latham and Conway resumed their partnership.
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 level 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 was more aggressive on 37.