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The New Zealand opening pair of Tom Latham and Devon Conway established a new record for the highest opening partnership by a Kiwi opening duo in Test cricket history.
Latham-Conway achieved this record during the third and final Test against the West Indies at Mount Maunganui on Thursday. The left-handed batting duo left West Indies bowlers searching for answers, wickets and the cherry all over the park, as they put on a massive 323 runs for the first wicket. Now, with this, they have outdone the effort of Stewie Dempster and Jackie Mills, who had put on 276 for the first wicket against England at Wellington back in 1930. The South African pair of Neil McKenzie and Graeme Smith hold the record for the best opening partnership in Test cricket, putting together 415 runs against Bangladesh in Chattogram way back in 2008. Latham, who scored a brilliant 137 in 246 balls, with 15 fours and a six, joined Martin Guptill (23 international centuries) as the joint-most century-getter for the Kiwis in international cricket. Above him are legends like Kane Williamson (48 international centuries), Ross Taylor (40 international centuries) and Nathan Astle (27 international centuries). This was the Kiwi skipper's 15th Test century, the most by a Kiwi opener in Tests. Conway ended the day for NZ at an unbeaten 178* in 279 balls, with 25 fours alongside the nightwatchman Jacob Duffy (9*), with Kemar Roach, the veteran WI pacer getting the sole wicket for WI. Reflecting on the partnership, Latham said after conclusion of day's play, "A great partnership between Dev (Conway) and myself. Happy with the day's work. Just get a bit of momentum and you keep going. West Indies actually bowled quite well, especially in that second session. They went past the bat quite a lot. Recognising certain spells at times when things become a little bit tricky and trying to recognise situations where we might be able to get on top of a little bit. The way Dev played today was outstanding, pretty free-flowing and took the pressure off me a little bit as well. It's certainly a lot of fun out there. (On the conditions) The first session was probably a little bit slower. Did not necessarily offer a huge amount (movement) from a sideways point of view, but then after lunch, it quickened up a little bit. It sort of started to offer a few more wobble seams and got a bit more out of the surface. We obviously managed to counteract that and just managed to keep building a bit of momentum. It would have been nice to be there in the end tonight, but Duff did a good job getting through there." (ANI)
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