New Zealand duo claim WTC best with record-breaking stand
Tom Latham and Devon Conway rewrote World Test Championship history books with their 323-run partnership against the West Indies on Thursday.
New Zealand pair Tom Latham and Devon Conway have broken the record previously held by India duo Rohit Sharma and Mayank Agarwal for the highest opening partnership since the inception of the ICC World Test Championship.
The opening duo combined to put on 323 for the first wicket, with skipper Latham (137) scoring his 15th Test century and Conway (178*) his sixth as the Black Caps dominated proceedings as they put the West Indies' bowlers to the sword in Mount Maunganui.
Speaking after the stumps, Conway reflected on his stand with Latham, discussing what it meant to open an innings in New Zealand.
"[Opening] is a very underappreciated job around the world, not just here. Yeah, it has been a tough ride. Quite often you rock up day one of a Test match and you see it's pretty green.
"I think you've just got to try and remind yourself to get yourself into a good position and look to score because there is probably a ball with your name on it here in New Zealand. You've just got to be disciplined."
Highest Partnerships in World Test Championship history
| Rank | Players | Partnership Runs | Opposition | Year |
| 1 | Devon Conway & Tom Latham (New Zealand) | 323 | West Indies | 2025 |
| 2 | Mayank Agarwal & Rohit Sharma (India) | 317 | South Africa | 2019 |
| 3 | Abid Ali & Shan Masood (Pakistan) | 278 | Sri Lanka | 2019 |
| 4 | Abdullah Shafique & Imam-ul-Haq (Pakistan) | 252* | Australia | 2022 |
| 5 | Zak Crawley & Ben Duckett (England) | 233 | Pakistan | 2022 |
Latham fell late on the opening day to veteran West Indies quick Kemar Roach (1/63), with night-watcher Jacob Duffy (9**)* joining Conway at the crease as the hosts finished in control of the third Test at 334/1*.
Speaking on Latham's performance, Conway said, "I think a lot of credit needs to go to a guy like Tom Latham, who's played 90-odd Tests, and he's done so well. I think he's scored his 15th Test century, and a lot of those centuries have been here in New Zealand."
You have to go back to April of 1972 to find the last time New Zealand's openers scored more than 300 for the opening wicket at Test level, with Glenn Turner and Terry Jarvis putting on 387 for the first wicket – the highest opening partnership for New Zealand – also against the West Indies in Guyana.
New Zealand's openers with a colossal partnership in Mount Maunganui 🤝#NZvWI live 📲 https://t.co/RsAVYUUerk#WTC27 pic.twitter.com/V9wpsAncW9
— ICC (@ICC) December 18, 2025
While Latham and Conway couldn't surpass this New Zealand record, they did manage to finish with the equal 12th best in the history of Test cricket and claim the record for the highest since the World Test Championship commenced in 2019.
Rohit and Agarwal had previously held the record since they put on 317 for the opening wicket against South Africa in Visakhapatnam back in 2019, with Latham and Conway sneaking past the mark just prior to stumps to mark a dominant day for New Zealand.
Conway found himself 22 runs off his second double hundred at stumps on day one. However, he insisted he was not looking that far ahead and just wanted to maintain his focus while on the crease.
"I just want to go out there, stay in the process ball by ball and just keep doing my thing - building a partnership with others at the other end.
"Bat for a long period of time because that wicket is going to get flatter, and it will give our spinners an opportunity to do a role later in the Test."
Series schedule:
First Test: December 2-6, Hagley Oval, Christchurch (Match Drawn)
Second Test: December 10-14, Basin Reserve, Wellington (New Zealand won by nine wickets)
Third Test: December 18-22, Bay Oval, Mount Maunganui
