• Home
  • Top Most
  • Highest Opening Partnerships For New Zealand In Tests

Conway-Latham shy of top spot: Highest opening stands for New Zealand in Tests listed

Mayank

Conway and Latham added 323 runs vs WI in Mount Maunganui [Source: AFP Photos]Conway and Latham added 323 runs vs WI in Mount Maunganui [Source: AFP Photos]

The Test series decider between New Zealand and West Indies in Mount Maunganui on Thursday, December 18, started emphatically for the home team, as they put up close to 350 runs by the stumps, while only losing a solitary wicket of their captain Tom Latham after a marathon stand of 323 runs between him and his opening partner Devon Conway to put the Kiwis in front early in the match.

As the left-handed duo added a mammoth triple-century stand at the top of the order, we explore NZ's biggest opening partnerships in Tests.

5. Mark Richardson & Lou Vincent- 231 runs vs India

During the second Test of New Zealand's tour of India in 2003, the left-right combination of Mark Richardson and Lou Vincent played a crucial role in helping the visitors draw the two-match series in India, with a 231-run opening partnership on the first day of the Mohali Test. The right-handed youngster, Vincent, was trapped lbw by Anil Kumble at 106(227) with the last hour of the day left, while Richardson went on to score 145(410), with 19 fours to his name, before he was dismissed on the subsequent day.

The Kiwis batted 198.3 overs and posted 630/6 (dec.), thanks to two more centuries from Scott Styris and Craig McMillan, and the match as well as the series was eventually drawn.

4. Tom Latham & Jeet Raval- 254 runs vs Bangladesh

When Bangladesh toured NZ in 2019, the Blackcaps started the series with a dominant win in Hamilton. After they asked the visitors to bat first and dismantled them for just 234 runs under 60 overs, Jeet Raval and Latham provided them with a solid foundation, so they did not need to bat again in the match by putting on 254 runs in 69.5 overs before Raval was dismissed for 132(220) with 19 fours and a six. Latham scored 161(248) before Soumya Sarkar got rid of him.

Captain Kane Williamson scored a double-century, and they finished with 715/6 (dec) on the board, winning the match by an innings and 52 runs.

3. Stewie Dempster & Jackie Mills- 276 runs vs England

In the second Test of England's 1930 tour of New Zealand, the hosts elected to bat first and the openers gave them a brilliant start before their middle and lower order collapsed. Stewie Dempster scored 136 runs, and Jackie Mills added 117, as they built a 276-run stand for the first wicket in Wellington. However, they were bundled for 440 before taking a 120-run lead. Despite a healthy lead and setting a 285 run target, England managed to see out the Test and held onto their 1-0 lead in the series.

2. Devon Conway & Tom Latham- 323 runs vs West Indies

Following a dramatic draw in the first Test and a comfortable win in the second, the Kiwis' skipper Latham decided to bat first in their final Test of the year, before the focus shifts back to white-ball cricket. Opening the batting with another in-form batter, Devon Conway, he batted 86.4 overs before a lapse in concentration led to him nicking Kemar Roach to the slips.

Before Latham was dismissed at 137(246), with the help of 15 fours and a six, he added 323 runs alongside Conway for the first wicket. The latter was the aggressor among the two, finishing the day with 178*(279), as the former champions look to start the World Test Championship cycle with a series win. This is also the highest-ever opening partnership in New Zealand in Test cricket.

1. Glenn Turner & Terry Jarvis- 387 runs vs West Indies

While batting second and trailing West Indies' 365/7 (dec) in the 4th Test of their tour of the Caribbean in 1972, Glenn Turner and Terry Jarvis put on a batting exhibition in Georgetown, and the visitors took the first innings lead without losing any wickets. The openers added 387 for the first wicket before Jarvis was caught by Geoff Greenidge off David Holford at 185 from a whopping 555 balls. Turner went on to get a career best of 259(759) with the help of 22 fours before getting lbw, when the score read 482/1. They took a 178-run lead, declaring at 543/3, and the match was drawn, with WI 86/0 in the second innings.