Conway & Latham share 323-run opening stand for NZ

Mount Maunganui, day one of the third test, is the fifth test.

New Zealand 334-1: Conway 178*, Latham 137

West Indies: Still playing

As New Zealand won the first day of their third Test series victory over West Indies, Devon Conway and Tom Latham shared New Zealand’s second-highest opening partnership in the game.

The openers scored 323 for the first wicket, bettering only Glenn Turner and Terry Jarvis’ 387-run innings in Georgetown against West Indies in 1972.

Conway finished with a 178-run lead, while Latham, the team’s captain, recorded 137 as New Zealand came out on top 334-1.

The partnership, which involved 86.4 overs, is New Zealand’s eighth-highest opening stand of 300 for any wicket. It is also the joint 12th highest opening stand in men’s test cricket.

Martin Crowe and Andrew Jones set a record partnership for New Zealand when they added 467 for the third wicket in Wellington in 1991 when Sri Lanka lost to Sri Lanka.

Conway recorded his sixth Test century while facing 279 balls and hitting 25 fours.

Latham, who had earlier won the toss, was caught by a diving Roston Chase at first slip off Kemar Roach after being dropped by wicketkeeper Tevin Imlach on 104.

Latham now has 15 Test scores and has faced 246 balls, 15 fours, and sixes.

The best experience I’ve had. Conway remarked, “It was a good time out there.”

This morning, we discussed how to bat big, bat well, and give bowlers the chance to bowl in the fourth inning.

It was a challenging morning session, particularly for me. In the first hour, I engaged in self-feir. They did a fantastic job.

The ball softer and the wicket sped up after lunch, which gave me and Tom some good scoring opportunities.