It has required New Zealand batters five matches spread across seven ICC Cricket World Cups and 27 years to score a century against England. A moment worth the wait, it came to the fore in the form of both opening batter Devon Conway and all-rounder Rachin Ravindra (1/76 & 123*) scoring individual centuries in ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 tournament opener in Ahmedabad.
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It is worth mentioning that former New Zealand all-rounder Nathan Astle was their first batter to have crossed the 100-run mark individually in a World Cup match against England. Outside of world events, as many as eight Kiwi batters have scored a combined total of 14 ODI centuries against English attacks.
Devon Conway Becomes 2nd New Zealand Batter To Score World Cup Century Against England
One of the eight batters to have scored an ODI hundred against England, Conway has now scored two of them against this opposition in less than four weeks. Having not faced England in an ODI before a four-match series away from home last month, two out of Conway’s five ODI tons have come against them now.
Opening the batting with Will Young (0), Conway had to imbibe immense pressure of tackling with his opening partner’s first-ball duck in the first match of a world event. Having found a young but an effective company in Ravindra, the pair shared a match-winning 211-ball 273-run second-wicket partnership to seal a 283-run chase as early as the 37th over.
Conway, in particular, thumped a career-best 152* (121) comprising 19 fours and five sixes to play an instrumental role in a match which was being played without his regular captain Kane Williamson. A man known to deliver in the most difficult of situations, Conway batting at a strike rate of 125.61 handed a proper head-start to the Black Caps at the Narendra Modi Stadium tonight.
A slow starter as compared to Ravindra, Conway completed a 36-ball half-century by hitting a boundary off England spinner Adil Rashid (15* & 0/47) in the 13th over. Quick to change gears after an assured start, Conway reached the three-figure mark off 83 balls in the 27th over.
A 20-run over off Sam Curran (14 & 1/47) consisting of a six and a couple of fours allowed the 32-year old player to breach his previous career-best score of 138. A couple of fours against part-time spinner Liam Livingstone (20 & 0/24) in the next over made way for Conway to cross the 150-run mark for the first time in this format.
Before Devon Conway, Only Nathan Astle Had Scored A World Cup Century Against England
In what was only his third ODI century, a 25-year old Astle had become the first New Zealand batter to score a World Cup century against the Englishmen.
Interestingly, Astle had achieved the feat as an opening batter in the first match of ICC Cricket World Cup 1996. If this wasn’t enough a co-incidence, it is to be noted that the right-handed batter had also excelled in Ahmedabad (formerly known as the Gujarat Stadium).
Opening the batting with Craig Spearman, Astle was the difference between the two batting units on the back of having scored 101 (132) with the help of eight fours and two sixes. Even though New Zealand were asked to bat first on the day unlike today, they did manage to start their World Cup campaign with an 11-run win.
