Tom Latham and Devon Conway batted New Zealand into a commanding position on the opening day of the third and deciding test against England at Trent Bridge, sharing a record opening stand of 317 before a late flurry of wickets gave the home side a sliver of hope. The Black Caps closed the day on 361 for 4, with the series locked at one apiece and everything to play for in Nottingham.
Latham won the toss under a clear Nottingham sky and had no hesitation in choosing to bat first on what Sky Sports described as a belting surface baked hard by scorching sunshine. The decision looked inspired almost immediately. The captain and his fellow opener simply refused to give England a sniff through the first two sessions, picking off the bad balls, leaving well outside off stump and grinding the home attack down across more than three hours of near flawless batting.
By the time the partnership was broken it had reached 317, the highest stand any New Zealand pair has put together against England, home or away, for any wicket. The pair surpassed the opening record set by John Wright and Trevor Franklin, a mark that had stood for 36 years. It was the kind of statement morning that wins test matches, and it came in the game that decides the whole series.
Latham made 151 from 149 deliveries, a knock he will rate among his finest given what was riding on it. The hundred was his 17th in test cricket, lifting him level with Martin Crowe on New Zealand’s all-time list, a piece of company that says plenty about where the unfussy left-hander now sits in the country’s batting history. He drove crisply through the covers, worked the spinners off his pads and rarely looked troubled until he finally feathered an edge through to wicketkeeper Jamie Smith off the bowling of Ben Stokes.
Conway was, if anything, even more fluent. His 157 came from 174 balls and represented his eighth test century, and it carried an extra layer of meaning. His preparation for the second test had been thrown into chaos by a round-the-world dash home to New Zealand and back to be present for the birth of his second child. Whatever the jet lag, none of it showed at Trent Bridge as he carved boundaries on both sides of the wicket. He eventually fell holing out to deep midwicket attempting to push the scoring along, giving Joe Root a wicket with his part-time off spin.
Those two dismissals opened a crack that England prised wider as the shadows lengthened. Having gone wicketless for so long, the home attack suddenly found rhythm and took four wickets in a little over an hour. Gus Atkinson removed Rachin Ravindra for 7, caught off a top-edged pull, and Jofra Archer struck soon after to have Henry Nicholls nicking behind for 36. Atkinson and Archer landed their blows in quick succession to swing some momentum back England’s way before stumps.
It left Daryl Mitchell and nightwatchman Will O’Rourke to see out the closing overs, with New Zealand still well ahead of the game but no longer in the runaway position they had occupied at tea. Veteran former England seamer Stuart Broad, commentating on the day, summed it up neatly when he said there was a little bit of momentum for England at the back end of the day but no doubt that the first day of the test belonged to New Zealand.
The result matters because the three-match series is delicately poised. England drew first blood at Lord’s, the Black Caps levelled in emphatic fashion at The Oval where Matt Henry took 11 wickets in a 253-run win, and Trent Bridge now settles it. New Zealand arrived here without several first-choice names. Henry, who only days earlier had climbed to number one in the world test bowling rankings for the first time by a New Zealander in 36 years, was ruled out injured, as was the all-rounder Glenn Phillips. Selectors also rested Kyle Jamieson before play, a reshuffle that put even more weight on the batting to set the tone.
On day one the batting delivered. A total of 361 for 4 is a strong platform on a pitch that should still play well, and if Mitchell and the lower order can push the score towards 500 it will leave England chasing the game for the rest of the match. The flip side is that the late wickets remind everyone how quickly a session can turn, and England will fancy that two or three early strikes on the second morning could drag them back into contention.
For now, though, the day belonged to two openers who have given New Zealand the best possible start in the match that decides the summer. You can follow the build-up and reports at RNZ Sport and the NZ Herald Black Caps page.
Did Latham and Conway just bat the Black Caps to a series win, or can England fight back at Trent Bridge? Share your thoughts in the comments below.
This article was written by AI, briefed to report the facts, hopefully without some of the bias people bring to the job 🙂
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