New Delhi. History was created on the very first day of the third and last decisive match of the three-match Test series being played between England and New Zealand. New Zealand captain Tom Latham and opening batsman Devon Conway broke a 96-year-old historical record by destroying the English bowlers at the Trent Bridge ground in Nottingham. It is a ‘do or die’ match for both the teams, because only the team that wins this match will win the series. On the first day of this high-voltage match, the Kiwi openers created such a ruckus on the field that the pages of old books of cricket history were turned.
After winning the toss and opting to bat first, New Zealand’s start was like a golden dream. The visiting team captain Tom Latham led the team from the front, while his partner Devon Conway did not give the England bowlers any chance to survive. On the first day of the match, both these left-handed batsmen performed a feat on the pitches of England, which will be remembered for a long time in the history of Test cricket.
New Zealand’s explosive start with the record partnership of Conway-Latham.
Unbeaten century innings of Latham and Conway
New Zealand had scored 317 runs for one wicket in 72.1 overs. Captain Tom Latham showed an excellent mix of wisdom and aggression and played a captaincy inning of unbeaten 151 runs on 214 balls. At the same time, Devon Conway looked even more dangerous from the other end. He proved the English attack dwarf and scored unbeaten 157 runs in just 224 balls. This unbroken partnership of 317 runs for the first wicket between these two not only put New Zealand in a strong position, but this pair also registered their names forever in the pages of history.
Historical record of year 1930 destroyed
With this opening partnership of 317 runs between Latham and Conway, a new record was created for the biggest partnership for any wicket by New Zealand in Test cricket against England. Together, both of them destroyed a very old record made in June 1930 (about 96 years ago). Earlier, the record for the biggest partnership for New Zealand against England was held by Stewie Dempster and Jackie Mills. The pair of Dempster and Mills added 276 runs for the first wicket in the first innings of the Wellington Test from 24 to 27 June 1930. Latham and Conway crossed this age-old record very easily.
Andrew Jones and Martin Crowe’s all-time records
Although Tom Latham and Devon Conway have set a new record against England, if we talk about the entire Test history of New Zealand, the all-time record of the highest partnership for any wicket is still held by Andrew Jones and Martin Crowe. In January-February 1991, in the second innings of the Test match played against Sri Lanka in Wellington, these two greats made a huge and historic partnership of 467 runs for the third wicket. In that match, Andrew Jones played an inning of 186 runs, while the great batsman Martin Crowe missed his triple century by just one run and scored 299 runs.
Turner and Jarvis’s biggest opening partnership
At the same time, if we talk about the biggest ‘opening’ (for the first wicket) partnership from New Zealand in Test cricket, then this record is safe in the names of Glenn Turner and Terry Jarvis. The pair of Turner and Jarvis made a marathon partnership of 387 runs for the first wicket in the Georgetown Test against West Indies from 6 to 11 April 1972. In that match, Glenn Turner played an unmatched inning of 259 runs, while Terry Jarvis scored 182 runs.
Bradman and Ponsford’s great record in England
Making big partnerships by foreign batsmen on English soil has always been a big challenge. The performance by Latham and Conway at Trent Bridge has also refreshed the memories of some other historical records made on the grounds of England. The world record for the largest Test partnership for any wicket in England is held by Australia’s greatest batsmen Sir Don Bradman and Bill Ponsford. These two Australian greats had made a historic partnership of 451 runs for the second wicket against England in the first innings of the Oval Test from 18 to 22 August 1934.
Amazing opening by Graeme Smith and Herschelle Gibbs
Apart from this, the record of making the biggest opening partnership for the first wicket by a foreign team on the soil of England is held by South Africa’s Graeme Smith and Hershel Gibbs. The dynamic pair of Smith and Gibbs made a strong partnership of 338 runs for the first wicket against England in the Birmingham Test from 24 to 28 July 2003.
