New Zealand opener Tom Latham has etched his name alongside a legend of the game. During the third Test against England at Trent Bridge in Nottingham, Latham scored a magnificent 151 off 214 balls, including 15 fours, to register his 17th Test century. This milestone places him level with the iconic Martin Crowe as New Zealand's joint third-highest century-maker in Test cricket.
Latham's Journey to 17 Test Tons
Latham reached the landmark in his 95th Test match. In total, he has amassed 6,446 runs at an average of 39.30, with a strike rate exceeding 48. His career best score remains an unbeaten 264. Alongside his 17 centuries, he has also scored 31 half-centuries. Latham now sits fifth on New Zealand's all-time Test run-scorers list, just eight runs shy of surpassing former captain Brendon McCullum's tally of 6,453 runs to become the fourth-highest run-getter for the Black Caps.
New Zealand's Century Leaders
Above Latham in the centuries list are two modern greats: Ross Taylor, who scored 19 centuries in 112 Tests, and Kane Williamson, who leads with 33 centuries in 110 Tests. Latham's achievement ties him with Crowe, a revered figure in New Zealand cricket who scored 17 centuries in 77 Tests before his passing in 2016.
Record Partnership with Devon Conway
In the same innings, Latham and opening partner Devon Conway (157 off 224 balls, with 22 fours and three sixes) added a monumental 387-run stand for the first wicket. This is the second-highest partnership for any wicket for New Zealand in Test cricket, surpassing the previous best opening stand of 387 by Glenn Turner and Terry Jarvis against the West Indies in 1972. The record for the highest partnership remains the 467-run stand between Kane Williamson and BJ Watling against Sri Lanka in 2018.
New Zealand won the toss and elected to bat first in this series-deciding match. After the openers' departure, Henry Nicholls and Rachin Ravindra were at the crease, with the team comfortably past the 350-run mark.
Playing XIs
New Zealand: Tom Latham (c), Devon Conway, Henry Nicholls, Rachin Ravindra, Daryl Mitchell, Tom Blundell (wk), Mitchell Santner, Nathan Smith, Blair Tickner, Ben Sears, William O'Rourke.
England: Ben Duckett, Emilio Gay, Jacob Bethell, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Jamie Smith (wk), Ben Stokes (c), Gus Atkinson, Jofra Archer, Josh Tongue, Shoaib Bashir.
(Based on a syndicated feed from ANI)
