The pair put together a remarkable 323-run stand for the first wicket<\/strong>, setting a new benchmark for the highest opening partnership in WTC history<\/strong>. In the process, they surpassed the previous record held by India\u2019s Rohit Sharma and Mayank Agarwal<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Leading from the front, captain Tom Latham<\/strong> struck a composed 137<\/strong>, registering his 15th Test century<\/strong>, while Devon Conway<\/strong> remained unbeaten on 178<\/strong>, bringing up his sixth Test hundred<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The West Indies bowling attack struggled to contain the relentless scoring as New Zealand took full control of the opening day of the third Test at Mount Maunganui<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Latham\u2019s innings came to an end late in the day when veteran pacer Kemar Roach<\/strong> dismissed him, but by then the damage had been done. Nightwatchman Jacob Duffy<\/strong> joined Conway at the crease as New Zealand closed the day at a commanding 334 for 1<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The last time New Zealand openers crossed the 300-run mark in Test cricket<\/strong> was more than five decades ago. In 1972<\/strong>, Glenn Turner and Terry Jarvis<\/strong> had added 387 runs<\/strong> for the first wicket against the West Indies in Guyana.<\/p>\n\n\n\n While Latham and Conway fell short of that long-standing national record, their partnership now stands as the second-highest opening stand in New Zealand Test history<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Their 323-run partnership also ranks among the top opening stands in Test cricket overall<\/strong> and is the highest since the World Test Championship began in 2019<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The earlier WTC record of 317 runs<\/strong>, set by Rohit Sharma and Mayank Agarwal against South Africa in Visakhapatnam in 2019, was overtaken just before stumps, capping off a dominant day for the hosts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n With New Zealand firmly in control, the series finale promises more high-quality Test cricket in the days ahead.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" New Zealand openers Tom Latham and Devon Conway delivered a batting masterclass on Thursday, rewriting World Test Championship (WTC) history with a record-breaking opening partnership against the West Indies. The pair put together a remarkable 323-run stand for the first wicket, setting a new benchmark for the highest opening partnership in WTC history. In the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":308,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[16],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-307","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/todaynewshours.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/307","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/todaynewshours.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/todaynewshours.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/todaynewshours.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/todaynewshours.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=307"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/todaynewshours.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/307\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":311,"href":"https:\/\/todaynewshours.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/307\/revisions\/311"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/todaynewshours.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/308"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/todaynewshours.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=307"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/todaynewshours.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=307"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/todaynewshours.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=307"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\n\n\n\n![\"Latham](\"https:\/\/todaynewshours.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/nz_2-1024x526.png\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nCenturies Power New Zealand\u2019s Dominance<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\nStrong Finish to Day One<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\nA Rare Feat in New Zealand Test History<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\nWTC Record Falls<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\n![\"Latham](\"https:\/\/todaynewshours.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/nz_3-1024x526.png\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nSeries at a Glance<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
\n
<\/li>\n\n\n\n
<\/li>\n\n\n\n
<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n