As Devon Conway walked onto Bay Oval yesterday to face the West Indies in his 32nd Test, a reminder of his long and varied career was plastered on his back.
The number 88 honors his idol and former teammate, South Africa’s Neil McKenzie, who donned the 44 shirt.
If the South African-born Conway had his way, he would have worn the same number, but he made his domestic debut alongside Mckenzie, so decided to double it and take 88 instead.
Photo: AFP
The number stuck, even as he moved to New Zealand in 2017 to chase a chance at playing Test cricket.
McKenzie was one half of the world Test record for an opening partnership of 415, alongside former South Africa captain Graeme Smith, against Bangladesh in 2008.
As fate would have it, playing alongside his own captain in Tom Latham 17 years later, Conway yesterday etched his name on to that record list, but fell short of unseating his hero.
Photo: AFP
He and Latham combined for a 323-run opening stand on day one of the third Test against the West Indies in Mount Maunganui, on Thursday. Conway led the way, ending the day unbeaten on 178 not out with Latham falling late in the day for 137.
Conway did not knock off a world record, but he did edge past McKenzie in another way, with his sixth Test century — one more than the South African.
“I mean, it’s pretty surreal for me to see myself in that light,” Conway said of comparisons with McKenzie. “As you say, mention Neil McKenzie, certainly one of my idols.”
It was advice given by McKenzie long ago that helped Conway to refocus during his 279-ball stay at the crease, batting all day against a tiring Windies bowling attack.
“There was a moment today at drinks when Michael Bracewell reminded me: ‘Remember what Macca said to you,’” Conway said.
“He said: ‘You’ve never got enough.’ You’re on 130, the ball’s not doing much, you know, it’s a good time to cash in, because the next innings, you start on zero,” he said.
New Zealand are to resume today on 334-1, with Conway alongside nightwatchman Duffy on nine.
NO HARD FEELINGS: Taiwan’s Lin Hsiang-ti and Indonesia’s Dhinda Amartya Pratiwi embraced after fighting to a tense and rare 30-29 final game in their Uber Cup match The Taiwanese men’s team on Wednesday fought back from the brink of elimination to defeat Denmark in Group C and advance to the quarter-finals of the Thomas Cup, while the women’s team were to face South Korea after press time last night in the Uber Cup quarter-finals in Horsens, Denmark. In the first match, Taiwan’s top shuttler Chou Tien-chen faced a familiar opponent in world No. 3 Anders Antonsen. It was their 16th head-to-head matchup, with the Dane taking his fourth victory in a row against former world No. 2 Chou, winning 21-14, 13-21, 21-15 in 1 hour, 22 minutes. The
Marta Kostyuk’s maiden WTA 1000 title in Madrid came on Saturday thanks to her power, poise and a pair of unexpected lucky shorts. The world No. 23 beat eighth-ranked Mirra Andreeva 6-3, 7-5 in under 90 minutes to secure the most prestigious trophy of her career, her third professional singles title and second in less than a month after Rouen. Yet as the 23-year-old Ukrainian posed for photographs at the Caja Magica, it was not just the silverware that caught the eye. Held alongside her team and her two dogs, Kostyuk showed off a piece of black men’s underwear, prompting
Throwing more than US$5 billion at a divisive new tour and walking away after five seasons does not look like good business, but LIV Golf was not all bad news for Saudi Arabia. Oil-funded LIV, which poached top stars and sent golf’s establishment into a tailspin, helped push the conservative kingdom into global view — one of its key aims, experts said. The exit, confirmed on Thursday after weeks of speculation, does not signal a flight of Saudi money from sport, even after the Middle East war that sparked Iranian attacks around the Gulf, they said. “Saudi Arabia is not
Anastasia Potapova on Wednesday turned tennis heartbreak into history by becoming the first lucky loser to reach a WTA 1000 semi-final with her thrilling 6-1, 6-7 (4/7), 6-3 victory over Karolina Pliskova at the Madrid Open, as Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei exited in the women’s doubles quarter-finals. The Russian-born Austrian, who lost in qualifying last week, has capitalized on her unexpected main draw entry and stunned former world No. 1 Pliskova in a roller-coaster clash despite squandering three match points. Potapova’s run has included impressive victories over former French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko and world No. 2 Elena Rybakina. Asked if she had thought
RSS