Latham – Conway’s batting record, the first feat in Tests

The host Pakistan made a mountain of runs in the first innings of the Karachi Test. Considering the strength of the bowling department of Babar Azam’s team, it was thought that New Zealand would be overwhelmed by the run hill. But where did it happen? Tom Latham and Devon Conway proved that the Kiwi batsmen do not go short. They started building resistance in the opening pair.

Latham and Conway put up a partnership of 150 runs. And with that, the Kiwis are moving forward with relief. Both the openers in this pair have seen half-centuries. Not only did they benefit the team, but they also broke a 57-year-old record. And that is, Kiwis scored the most runs in the opening pair on Pakistani soil. So far it has been 136 runs.

On this day, however, Conway also touched a personal milestone. The right-handed batsman entered the 1000-run club in his white shirt career. But there is also another record. He became the fastest Kiwi batsman to score 1000 Test runs. Whereas Conway played only 19 innings. The previous record was jointly held by John Reid and Mark Richardson (20 innings).

On New Zealand or Conway’s record-breaking day, Test cricket saw a different story. The first two batsmen of the hosts were out for stamping. Which is the first in 145 years of Test history. Two Pakistani top-order names Abdullah Shafiq and Shan Masood appeared on the pages of this unexpected record. And Kiwi wicketkeeper Tom Blundell helped to build this record from behind the wicket.

Although this is the first such incident in men’s cricket, women’s cricket has already seen the same. But that too was a long time ago, in 1976. At that time, playing against Australia in Jamaica, the host West Indies lost their first two batsmen by stamping. 1976 and 2022, a total of two different occurrences of this phenomenon.