The Bay of Plenty lived up to its name but only for New Zealand. Devon Conway and Tom Latham harvested a century each and by that time they were having so much fun they would barely let anybody else play.
West Indies could argue that was a bit rude. They were in Mount Maunganui looking for rich bounty as well. A first Test win on these shores for 30 years, which if secured would hand them a share of this series’ spoils.
All of that cast them in the role of a protagonist at the start of the day.
But as time wore on and records – both trivial and tumultuous – came to pass, Roston Chase and his men faded into the background.
Each of the five previous Test matches at this ground have yielded a wicket in its first session. This one didn’t. Kane Williamson, so used to an early start at the office, had to wait the longest he ever has to clock in.
So restless had he grown that at the start of the final session, he was seen wearing all his gear barring the helmet practicing a rapid-fire series of leaves and blocks. There will be reels. Split-screens with Latham and Conway facing real cricket balls out in the middle and this guy just pretending to do so with a caption of who did it better.
The answer is actually Terry Jarvis and Glenn Turner.
Latham had a big part in the history he helped make. Over 25 home Tests, dating all the way back to March 2012, New Zealand have only ever chosen to bowl after winning the toss.
Here, he had a hunch about putting runs on the board. Outside of that one bold move, everything else he did was basic. Playing close to the body.
Knowing exactly where his off stump was. Frustrating the bowlers to target his pads. Manufacturing easy put-aways. Latham’s 15th Test century – where he went past 6000 runs as an opener – was proof that fairy tales aren’t the only things that can come to life. Textbooks do too. It took all the way to 6.30pm for Latham to fall on 137. Test cricket was so close to having a fifth opening pair lasting the entire first day.
Conway played himself into form. Twenty-six of his last 39 innings were cut short at or below the 30-run mark, which isn’t ideal considering his role at the top of the order is to set the whole team up.
Given he was walking out onto a pitch with an unusual amount of grass – 13mm, normally it’s around 7-10mm – there was cause for concern.
He put them all to bed, weathering an initial period where West Indies were willing to give up only 11 runs in eight overs. He instigated the first period of New Zealand dominance, the six overs to morning drinks where they scored a-run-a-ball. He went on to bat for longer than he has ever done since his double-century on debut at Lord’s four years ago.
The only way any of this could have been worse for West Indies was if they had brought it all on themselves, and only the finest line separated that from what actually happened.
Because they got what they wanted at the toss. First use of a surface that looked like it had been left in the care of a kindergartener with a green crayon. The bowlers, though, didn’t make the best use of it. (ESPNcricinfo)
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