Devon Conway was all praise for New Zealand’s tail-ender Neil Wagner. The southpaw stated that he wouldn’t have reached his double century without Wagner’s valuable contribution with the bat.
Conway was still 14 runs shy of his double ton when England picked up the Kiwi’s ninth wicket. However, Wagner held his nerves, smashing a quickfire 21-ball 25* to help Conway reach the 200-run landmark in his debut Test innings.
While speaking at a virtual press conference after the end of the second day’s play, Conway revealed how the left-arm pacer was shouting “go ball go ball” when the former struck a pull shot to get to his double century.
“While it was in the air, Wags was shouting “go ball, go ball”. The way he came in and assessed the situation and played with some really good intent kept the momentum going throughout the innings. Massive credit to him, I couldn’t have reached that milestone without him being there at the other end,” the 29-year-old said.
Widely regarded by many as the best tail-ender in Test cricket at the moment, Wagner has often shown his capabilities with the bat. The 35-year-old averages 14.04 in the purest format of the game.
Devon Conway was eventually run out for 200, with none of the English bowlers managing to breach his defense. However, he explained that he did struggle to counter Mark Wood at times due to the latter’s sheer pace.
“He’s certainly up there [for pace] but this wicket is not one of the quickest around. I’m pretty grateful I got a chance to face him on a slightly slower wicket. He is pretty express and it gets that adrenaline flowing and it’s exciting to face, probably one of the quicker guys throughout my career,” he added.
New Zealand were bowled out for 378, with England fighting back to reach 111/2 after losing two early wickets on Day 2. While Rory Burns is batting on 59*, skipper Joe Root is also unbeaten on 42*.