The South African-born Kiwi batter resumed the second day on 136, showing ultimate patience and calmness as wickets fell regularly at the other end. Finally, in the 122nd over of New Zealand’s first innings, Conway smashed a six over fine leg region to complete his double century in grand fashion.
The 29-year-old scored 200 runs off 347 deliveries, including 22 fours and a six, before he ran himself out. Riding on Conway’s scintillating double ton, the Kane Williamson-led side posted 378 runs on the scoreboard.
Let’s have a look at some of the feats accomplished by Conway after hitting an incredible double-hundred:
- Conway became the seventh batsmen in the history of Test cricket to score a double ton on Test debut.
- The left-handed stroke maker recorded the highest score by a male batsman on Test debut in England. He broke a 125-year-old record held by former English cricketer KS Ranjitsinhji, who had smashed 154 in Manchester in 1896.
- For New Zealand, Conway is only the second player to hit a double century on Test debut. Before him, Mathew Sinclair had achieved the feat against West Indies at Wellington in 1999, when he had scored 214 runs.
- Conway also became the second opener after Priyantha Kuruppu of Sri Lanka to score a double ton on the maiden Test. Interestingly, Kuruppu had scored unbeaten 201 against New Zealand at Colombo in 1987.
- The Johannesburg-born became the fourth player to feature in the elite list of highest scores by debutants in away Tests.
- Another interesting fact is that Conway is the oldest of the seven players with a double ton on debut, at 29 years and 329 days old at the start of the match.
- Conway’s 200 off 347 balls was the second-longest innings on Test debut in terms of minutes. The left-handed batter spent 578 minutes on the crease. Kuruppu took 777 minutes to score 201 in 1987.
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