Devon Conway arrived at Trent Bridge on Thursday with a small technical project in mind. Three deliveries into Gus Atkinson’s opening over, the trial was history – and by stumps the left-hander was unbeaten on 157, New Zealand firmly on top after piling up 317 for none with Tom Latham.
The facts first. Latham won the toss, chose to bat under Nottingham’s spotless skies and watched Conway survive a nervy opening. What followed, a commanding double-century stand that threatened records, put the tourists in charge of the third Test.
Conway admitted to Sky Sports that those first moments were grim. “I still felt a little bit out-of-sorts at times,” he said. “I’ve been struggling a little bit with my pre-movement throughout the series admittedly, so it was quite nice just to get through those tougher periods and then just put the bowlers under pressure and build a partnership.”
The plan had been to ditch his familiar shuffle – the small trigger across the crease that helps him line up off-stump – and keep the back foot planted. One ball fended away from the ribs, another thudded into the back pad, and the idea went in the bin. “I was actually trying out keeping my back foot still and not actually having that pre-movement, because I was getting it in too late throughout this series,” he added. “I tried it for the first three balls and then I scratched that idea, and just said, ‘Right, try and go back to getting that back foot moving, but just try and get that movement in a little bit earlier.’”
Batting coach Luke Ronchi could only smile. “All the guys work on technical things, but Dev was just trying a few little things, doing a few little drills just to work out his prelim … Today, it worked nicely for him,” he said. “For the first few balls, he was trying one thing and then he changed to another thing, but it helped marry up the way he wants to do it and make the movement more fluid, the way he’d like to be before the bowler lets go of the ball.”
Once settled, Conway’s strokeplay was simple and orthodox. Drives through the covers flowed, the occasional on-side whip kept the field honest, and England’s seamers – Atkinson, James Anderson and Matthew Potts among them – found little movement to work with after lunch. A hint of reverse swing briefly caused concern, yet both openers pressed on, Conway past three figures with a celebration that has already circled social media: dummy cradled in arms, rocking an invisible baby.
“It was a long trip, but I was really grateful that New Zealand allowed me that opportunity to get back to be with my wife and see the little ones,” Conway explained, having flown home between Tests for the birth of daughter Taylor. “Tommy did whisper in my ear, ‘I want to see the baby celebration’. We did speak about it, so it was nice to bring it out.”
For Latham, 145 not out at the close, the day was another entry in an increasingly weighty partnership ledger. In December the same pair added 323 against West Indies at Mount Maunganui; their 317 here is New Zealand’s second-highest opening stand in England. They also cruised past 2,000 runs together in Tests, an understated milestone noted only when the scoreboard flashed it up during the morning session.
“There’s a couple of little records we’ve been told about with these two batting together,” Ronchi said. “It’s been fantastic. We were hoping they’d be able to knock off their partnership that they scored last summer, but they missed out just by a little bit. But to play like they did and put a partnership on like that, that’s a massive plus for our day.”
From England’s point of view the surface looked true and a touch slow, but hardly lifeless. Ben Stokes tinkered with field placings, rotated six bowlers, even tried a short leg and leg-gully for Anderson, yet no plan stuck. Ollie Robinson, rested after Lord’s, may find conditions more to his liking tomorrow morning when cloud is forecast; England will need early inroads or risk chasing the game.
New Zealand, meanwhile, have Kane Williamson, Rachin Ravindra and the lower order waiting. A total north of 500 is on the cards if Saturday stays dry. Williamson, a quiet observer from the balcony, will note that Conway’s initial tinkering led nowhere – sometimes the old method still does the job.
In a series that has swung with each session, Thursday felt oddly calm. One abandoned experiment, two centurions, and a long walk back for England at the close.
