Centuries to Tom Latham and Jeet Raval, and New Zealand’s best opening partnership in nearly 50 years left Bangladesh on the ropes on the second day of the first Test yesterday.
Kane Williamson, unbeaten on 93, added to the run-fest at Hamilton’s Seddon Park in a century stand for the fourth wicket with Henry Nicholls. At stumps, New Zealand were 451-4, leading by 217 with six wickets in hand.
Latham made 161, Raval notched his maiden century with 132, while Nicholls departed two overs before stumps for 53.
Raval, who went into the Test frustrated at holding the New Zealand record for the most fifties (8) without a century, was relieved to get the monkey off his back in his 17th Test.
“It’s very nice to get over the line and get the hundred, but more importantly it’s nice to get the big partnership,” the Test specialist opener said.
With the assistance of a flat track, Latham and Raval put on 254 for the first wicket, the third-highest opening partnership by a New Zealand pair and their best since the record 387 set by Glenn Turner and Terry Jarvis against the West Indies 47 years ago.
Latham punished Bangladesh for dropping him at the start of the innings before he had scored a run.
He occupied the crease for more than six hours, scoring freely around the ground and reaching the boundary with 17 fours, as well as hitting Mehidy Hasan over the midwicket fence three times.
Fittingly, it was Soumya Sarkar — who spilled the simple catch Latham gave at second slip before scoring — who eventually claimed his wicket.
However, by then, Latham had passed 150 for the fourth time in his career and New Zealand were 333-2.
Raval held his nerve after passing his previous best — 88 on the same ground against South Africa two years ago — and raised his bat when he cracked back-to-back fours off Ebadat Hossain to move from 93 to 101.
It took a sly switch from Mahmudullah to make the elusive breakthrough.
College basketballer Kaitlyn Chen has become the first female player of Taiwanese descent to be drafted by a WNBA team, after the Golden State Valkyries selected her in the third and final round of the league’s draft on Monday. Chen, a point guard who played her first three seasons in college for Princeton University, transferred to the University of Connecticut (UConn) for her final season, which culminated in a national championship earlier this month. While at Princeton, Chen was named the Ivy League tournament’s most outstanding player three times from 2022 to last year. Prior to the draft, ESPN described Chen as
College basketballer Kaitlyn Chen (陳凱玲) has become the first player of Taiwanese descent to be drafted by a WNBA team, after being selected by the Golden State Valkyries in the third and final round of the league's draft yesterday. Chen, a point guard who played her first three seasons in college for Princeton University, transferred to the University of Connecticut (UConn) for her final season, which culminated in a national championship on April 6. While at Princeton, Chen was named the Ivy League tournament's most outstanding player three times from 2022 to last year. Prior to the draft, ESPN described Chen as a
Robinson Cano spent 17 seasons playing in the MLB in front of all kinds of baseball fans, but he said there is something special about his stint with the Mexican Baseball League’s Diablos Rojos. He is not alone. The league last week opened its 100th season, aiming to keep an impressive growth in attendance that began after the national team’s surprise run at the 2023 World Baseball Classic, and is already surpassing some first-division soccer clubs. After finishing third in the 2023 tournament, many casual fans, some of them soccer enthusiasts disappointed after Mexico were eliminated in the first round in the 2022
Kumar Rocker, a first-round pick in both the 2021 and 2022 drafts, on Thursday won for the first time in the major leagues. Rocker struck out a career-best eight in a career-best seven innings as the Texas Rangers beat the Los Angeles Angels 5-3 to complete a three-game sweep. Rocker (1-2) threw a career-high 78 pitches and allowed three runs on five hits without a walk. The 25-year-old right-hander was drafted third overall by Texas in 2022, a year after concerns over a physical led to him going unsigned by the New York Mets as the 10th overall pick. He made his major
RSS