At a time where there’s clamour to get younger talent into the Black Caps’ test ranks, Devon Conway has made sure the next generation will continue to wait for their chance.
In the final years of New Zealand’s golden generation of the 2010s, national selectors continue to be faced with a difficult choice.
Do they back the players on which the greatest era of New Zealand cricket has been built? Or do they bite the bullet, and back a new wave of players at the expense of some of the best to wear the black cap.
For batters in particular, the former has been the case. Of the Black Caps’ first-choice top six, only Rachin Ravindra (26) is under 30. Captain Tom Latham, Conway, Kane Williamson, Daryl Mitchell and wicketkeeper Tom Blundell are all aged between 33 and 35. That leaves a real possibility of mass retirements, at a similar time.
In particular, the loyalty to the current group stems from the want for a strong team culture, where players are backed to repeat their best displays of the past, rather than worry about their place in the side with every below-par performance.
However, unlike New Zealand sides of the past, the next wave of players coming through are starting to approach irresistible territory.
Canterbury’s Rhys Mariu, 24, and Central Districts’ Curtis Heaphy, 22, have both produced consistently excellent displays in the Plunket Shield, as well as for New Zealand A - typically a gauge of impending national selection.
Because of that, Conway’s place in the side feels the most at risk – not because he’s done anything wrong, but because the up-and-comers in his position at the top of the order are doing everything right.
On day one of the third test against the West Indies at Bay Oval, though, Conway let his bat do the talking. Opening on a green wicket, Conway notched his sixth test century, and second this year, to walk off at stumps with an unbeaten 178 of New Zealand’s 334-1.
And even if loyalty meant Conway’s place was secure, form now effectively locks the 34-year-old in for next year’s trips to England and Australia, either side of India visiting Kiwi shores.
But, asked if the performances of those at the level below means he’s looking over his shoulder, Conway was forthright in his assessment of the likes of Mariu and Heaphy, pushing for higher honours.
“Credit must go to those guys knocking the door down,” Conway said. “It’s fantastic that we’ve got good depth in New Zealand.
“I can’t focus on other peoples’ games. I’ve got to focus on me, and my job at hand.
“It’s great to have those guys knocking the door down. I’m sure no doubt we’ll see those guys in this group if they continue to do what they’re doing.”
For a player who burst onto the international scene in 2021, recent years have been tough for Conway.
After moving to the top of the order, in home conditions making it the most trying job in cricket, Conway averaged just 32.46 with the bat in 2023, and 21.44 in 2024. Uniquely, as evidence of the difficulty in opening in New Zealand, Conway’s away average of 43.30 is better than his home average of 42.16
This year, his record reads 548 runs at 91.33 – before the end of his innings at Bay Oval. Across formats this summer, there have been moments that suggested Conway was approaching his best - only for him to find ways to get out.
Scores of 56 and 47 not out in the T20 series against the West Indies were followed by 49 and 90 in the One-Day Internationals, before 37, 60 and 28 not out to start the tests.
But as he and Latham added 323 runs for the first wicket in Tauranga, Conway did his bit to ensure New Zealand will almost certainly not lose this test, and take a 2-0 series win with it.
On a personal level, resuming on 178 on day two also gives him the chance to better his best – 200 on debut at Lord’s, four years ago.
When day two does get underway, Conway has the chance to not only aim to better his best, but – considering conditions for batting will only improve – potentially even Brendon McCullum’s New Zealand record of 302.
Conway, though, says individual accolades are not in his thoughts.
“It’s just about doing a job for the team,” he said. “I had a conversation with Kane [Williamson], he said ‘at the end of the day, it’s not your runs, it’s the team’s runs’.
“Having that mindset, talking about it and thinking about it that way just brings you back to doing a role for the team. That’s the most important thing as a batting group.
“If you look too far ahead, particularly when you’re batting, you can get yourself in trouble.
“It’s about staying present, watching each ball as it comes and building a partnership with Duffman [Jacob Duffy].”
Alex Powell is a sports journalist for the NZ Herald. He has been a sports journalist since 2016.