Follow UsNew Zealand’s Devon Conway asserted that the Kiwis, on the first day of the Trent Bridge Test, were rewarded for being aggressive with the bat and revealed that in the meeting prior to the game, the visitors spoke about adopting a more positive attitude with the bat in hand. On Friday, New Zealand were inserted into bat after losing the toss, but it was the BlackCaps that ended up dominating the day, amassing 318 runs for the loss of just four wickets.
On the day, every single New Zealand batter passed the 25-run mark, but what stood out was the intent: 4 of the 6 batters scored at a strike rate over 55, and the Kiwis, overall, scored at a rate of 3.66 on Day 1.
Conway, who scored a brisk 46 (62) at number three, revealed at the end of the first day that New Zealand reaped rewards for showing intent with the bat, something he felt they did not do in the first Test.
"One of the things we spoke about in our batting meetings between Tests was to try and be a bit more aggressive – have that positive mindset and intent to score. We were probably lacking that a bit in the first Test. We tried to control that as best as possible and are reaping the rewards after day one,” Conway said on Friday.
"It looked a little bit green on top. If we’d have won the toss we’d have probably bowled first too. But we tried to change our mindset to play what’s in front us, rather than worry about the surface. The actual nature of the wicket wasn’t as bad as it looked.
"The English bowlers bowled quite full and that presented us with scoring opportunities. As batters we always try to hit the ball as straight as possible, but we just reacted to what was in front of us and that allowed us to hit square of the wicket.
"If we can put pressure on the bowlers as much as possible that will benefit us down the track. There was a good passage of bowling after lunch, when Jimmy came back with Broady. They controlled their lengths really well and made it harder to score."
Having dropped down to No.4 in the first Test of the series, Conway was moved back up to No.3 on Friday after skipper Kane Williamson was ruled out of the Test due to contracting Covid. The 30-year-old revealed that the entire New Zealand camp was kind of shook by the Williamson news, but asserted he, personally, does not mind batting anywhere in the Top 4.
"It was a bit of a shock for us late last night. It was unfortunate Kane has contracted Covid. He was a massive loss for us as a leader and a batsman. It’s just one of those things we have to get past and wish him a speedy recovery. I’m sure he’ll be very excited to join us for the third Test.
"For me personally, I’d just like to bat anywhere in the top four. I wouldn’t want to be any lower down than four. I don’t feel the role changes anywhere in the top four. It’s just about batting according to the situation."
The Kiwis ended the first day on a high, at 318/4, but Conway rued the inability of the Top 5 batters to convert starts and insisted that the visitors could have enjoyed an even better day. The southpaw, however, credited the duo of Daryl Mitchell and Tom Blundell, whose unbeaten 149-run stand made it New Zealand’s day and ensured to keep the hosts at bay.
"There’s a number of us that had good starts but didn’t capitalise. So it could have been an even better day. You have to give Daryl and Tom credit for their partnership late in the day. Regardless of what we did earlier on, they rectified the situation and gave us the momentum going into tomorrow,” Conway said.