@Cyclops said in West Indies tour of NZ:
In amongst the hail of records, Latham and Conway also equalled the record for century opening stands, with their 5th. Equalling Wright/Franklin. 11 more to match the all time record holders, Greenidge/Haynes. What a pair they were.
It's funny, when you look at the individual records Wright/Edgar look like the better pair, but when you compare the partnership stats, Wright/Franklin performed much better.
One last thing to note: before this test the record opening partnership in NZ was 276, shared between Dempster/Mills in a draw vs England in the 30s and Sherwin Campbell and someone else I forget for the West Indies in 98. The funny thing about that second one was that the West Indies went on to lose that match! Hope that's not a bad omen for tomorrow.
I touched on NZ not really having a proud history of openers ( which makes todays record all the more impressive ) and the stats prove that.....but I think I'd have to pick John Wright in my all time test team to open with Glenn Turner. He was the man in the 80s when batting was at its absolute toughest. Facing SO many all time great fast bowlers, no Bangladesh or Zimbabwe to pad the stats against, an average just under 38 might look a bit ordinary on paper but he set a platform brilliantly. He was a rock at the top of that order.
I'll wait til Latham and Conway finish up before deciding where they sit in the pecking order.
Bert Sutcliffe had a fine record but never won a test.
Mark Richardson is very underrated.