Devon Conway sounded almost relieved at stumps. New Zealand, 334 for 1 after day one of the third Test against West Indies, had rolled the dice by choosing to bat on a pitch the colour of spring cabbage. Conway and Tom Latham cashed in, sharing 323 for the first wicket before Latham fell for 137. Conway walked off unbeaten on 178, still talking about the team plan.
“The goal was to ‘bat big, bat well, and give our bowlers an opportunity to bowl in the fourth innings’,” he said, crediting a collective decision. “Once we made the decision that we were going to go with Jazzy [Ajaz Patel], we decided that we were collectively going to have a bat first.”
The last time New Zealand had done that on such a surface at home was back in 2011. Most captains see grass and stick the opposition in; Kane Williamson resisted the temptation. Early on it looked brave bordering on reckless. The ball zipped around, Kemar Roach and Alzarri Joseph repeatedly beating the bat. Conway admitted he was uncomfortable.
“In the first 15-20 overs, they seemed to be bowling in really good areas and moving the ball quite a lot. I was constantly fighting myself throughout that first hour,” he said. “Funny enough, I spoke to Tom Latham at lunch and I said I almost felt like I forgot how to bat after that first hour… Just everything felt really awkward.”
Experience told the pair to hang in. The ball softened, the sun came out and the pitch quickened. Conway, suddenly fluent, hit 25 fours. Latham’s stroke-play was less showy but equally organised. By tea, West Indies’ four-man pace attack were searching for answers rather than edges.
“I think it was a combination of two things,” Conway explained. “The ball got a little bit softer, a little bit older, and the wicket actually sped up a little bit. It offered up some good scoring opportunities for myself and Tom.”
The left-hander has endured a lean run – two-thirds of his previous 39 Test innings ended before 30 – yet looked anything but tentative here. Still, he keeps the numbers at arm’s length. “I just try and remind myself to just keep doing that – don’t worry about the runs,” he said. “Just keep focusing on doing a job for the team and doing a role.”
Opening in New Zealand can feel like a thankless task. Green pitches, new ball nibble, low temperatures – the lot. Conway nodded towards his senior partner. “Already mentally you think, well, it’s going to do bits here on this pitch. I think a lot of credit needs to go to a guy like Tom Latham, who’s played 90-odd Tests, and he’s done so well. I think he’s scored his 15th Test century, and a lot of those centuries have been here in New Zealand.”
Williamson’s call to include a frontline spinner on a surface offering early seam suggested he expects the surface to dry and turn. If that happens, Conway’s wish to “give our bowlers an opportunity to bowl in the fourth innings” could be fulfilled. For now, the hosts own the scoreboard and the initiative.
West Indies will point out the new ball is only 16 overs away, and Mount Maunganui has rewarded second-day bowlers before. Yet even their camp would admit the damage is done. One early wicket in the morning might expose New Zealand’s middle order; two or three, and the match is alive again. Otherwise Conway, eyeing a double, could make this series decider a long chase.
It was a day for patient skills rather than pyrotechnics, and that suited New Zealand just fine. They batted big. They batted well. Now they wait to see if it was big enough.
