Test debut. Lord’s Cricket Ground. Left-handed batsman. Born on July 8. A century.
In a remarkable piece of coincidence, 25 years after Sourav Ganguly achieved his feat at the Home of Cricket, New Zealand’s Devon Conway became only the third man in the history of the game to score a Test century on debut.
The 29-year-old Conway joined a select group of cricketers on Wednesday by marking his Test debut with a hundred at Lord’s.
The South Africa-born opener found himself thrust into the action straight away after New Zealand captain Kane Williamson won the toss and batted in the first of a two-match series against England.
But while star batsman Williamson and the experienced Ross Taylor both fell cheaply, Conway pressed on to a 163-ball century, reaching the landmark with a flamboyant whipped legside four, his 11th boundary, off England debutant fast bowler Ollie Robinson.
At stumps on day one, Conway had made an unbeaten 136 in a total of 246/3, having shared an unbroken partnership of 132 with fellow left-hander Henry Nicholls (46 not out). It is already the highest score on debut by a batsman at Lord’s in a Test match.
Only five other batsmen had previously scored a Test debut hundred at Lord’s, with Conway the first New Zealand international to achieve the feat.
Batsmen to have scored Test debut hundred at Lord’s (player, total, team, opposition, year):
Centuries on Test debut at Lord's
| Player | Runs | Inns | Opposition | Match started |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Harry Graham (AUS) | 107 | 2 | v England | 17 Jul 1893 |
| John Hampshire (ENG) | 107 | 2 | v West Indies | 26 Jun 1969 |
| Sourav Ganguly (INDIA) | 131 | 2 | v England | 20 Jun 1996 |
| Andrew Strauss (ENG) | 112 | 2 | v New Zealand | 20 May 2004 |
| Matt Prior (ENG) | 126* | 1 | v West Indies | 17 May 2007 |
| Devon Conway (NZ) | 136* | 1 | v England | 2 Jun 2021 |
Highest Test scores on Test debut at Lord's
| Player | Runs | Inns | Opposition | Start Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| DP Conway (NZ) | 136* | 1 | v England | 2 Jun 2021 |
| SC Ganguly (INDIA) | 131 | 2 | v England | 20 Jun 1996 |
| MJ Prior (ENG) | 126* | 1 | v West Indies | 17 May 2007 |
| AJ Strauss (ENG) | 112 | 2 | v New Zealand | 20 May 2004 |
| H Graham (AUS) | 107 | 2 | v England | 17 Jul 1893 |
| JH Hampshire (ENG) | 107 | 2 | v West Indies | 26 Jun 1969 |
| R Dravid (INDIA) | 95 | 2 | v England | 20 Jun 1996 |
| RC Russell (ENG) | 94 | 2 | v Sri Lanka | 25 Aug 1988 |
| Hon.FS Jackson (ENG) | 91 | 1 | v Australia | 17 Jul 1893 |
| AJ Strauss (ENG) | 83 | 4 | v New Zealand | 20 May 2004 |
Test 100s on debut in ENG by away batsmen
| Player | Runs | Inns | Ground | Start Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| H Graham (AUS) | 107 | 2 | Lord's | 17 Jul 1893 |
| AA Baig (INDIA) | 112 | 4 | Manchester | 23 Jul 1959 |
| DM Wellham (AUS) | 103 | 3 | The Oval | 27 Aug 1981 |
| SC Ganguly (INDIA) | 131 | 2 | Lord's | 20 Jun 1996 |
| DP Conway (NZ) | 136* | 1 | Lord's | 2 Jun 2021 |
Here are some reactions and more numbers from Conway’s special innings:
12 - Devon Conway is the 12th player to score a century on Test debut for the @BLACKCAPS, he has a target of 132 (Kane Williamson 131 v India) for the highest score on debut outside of NZ for the side. Home. pic.twitter.com/fd792Q31dN
— OptaJason (@OptaJason) June 2, 2021
The KP comparison was the most obvious one with Conway - SA born, white ball gun, going into an iconic tour. But this put me in mind of the guy who *wasn't* introduced for the 05 Ashes. Hard to expect Hussey-esque dominance from Conway, but today (and FC pedigree) invites it.
— Ben Jones (@benjonescricket) June 2, 2021
This is Conway's first FC hundred as an opener. Tidy effort.
— Andy Zaltzman (@ZaltzCricket) June 2, 2021
Most runs scored on the first day of Test career
— Deepu Narayanan (@deeputalks) June 2, 2021
166 Khalid Ibadulla v Aus 1964/65
163 Javed Miandad v NZ 1976/77
159 Wayne Phillips v Pak 1983/84
152 WG Grace v Aus 1880
142 Conrad Hunte v Pak 1957/58
136 DEVON CONWAY v Eng 2021#ENGvNZ
Scoring a century and batting through the first day on Test debut:
— Andrew Samson (@AWSStats) June 2, 2021
126* C Bannerman Aus v Eng Melbourne 1877
110* SC Griffith Eng v WI Port-of-Spain 1948
142* CC Hunte WI v Pak Bridgetown 1958
136* DP Conway NZ v Eng Lord's 2021
Devon Conway is the first ever player to assure his name in the Lord's batting honours board on the first day of Test career.#ENGvNZ @HomeOfCricket
— Kausthub Gudipati (@kaustats) June 2, 2021
When I profiled Devon Conway last year, he told me a nice little nugget of how his house mate [in Durban] Tabraiz Shamsi would willingly bowl extra overs to him if he did the dishes every evening. The two became good mates, but would soon see their paths diverge.
— Shashank Kishore (@captainshanky) June 2, 2021
A small point but Conway's knock today means NZ will head into the WTC Final with three lefties in their top six (& four in their top seven/eight if you include Santner) - this is something that brings Ashwin fractionally more into the game than if Blundell was playing. #ENGvNZ
— Freddie Wilde (@fwildecricket) June 2, 2021
Devon Conway looks like such a nice bloke and this is unhelpful in my quest to disprove the NZ-nice bloke narrative, tbh. #ENGvNZ
— Isabelle Westbury (@izzywestbury) June 2, 2021
All statistics for men’s Tests, as there is yet to be a women’s Test played at Lord’s.
