"I couldn’t have reached that milestone without Neil Wagner"- Devon Conway on his double ton
Devon Conway was all praise for New Zealand's no.11 batsman Neil Wagner. The Test debutant stated that he wouldn't have reached his double century without Wagner's valuable contribution with the bat.
When England picked up New Zealand's ninth wicket, Devon Conway was still 14 runs shy of his double hundred. But Wagner showed his batting prowess, smashing a quickfire 25* off 21 balls to help Conway reach the 200-run landmark in his debut Test innings.
In a virtual press conference after the end of the second day's play, Conway divulged how Wagner 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," Conway said.
Wagner has often shown his capabilities with the bat, with the 35-year-old averaging 14.04 in Tests. Many widely regard him as the best no.11 batsman in Test cricket at the moment.
"Mark Wood is pretty express, and it’s exciting to face him" - Devon Conway
Devon Conway was eventually run out for 200 in his first Test innings, with none of the English bowlers managing to breach his defense. But the Kiwi batsman stated that he did struggle to negate Mark Wood at times due to the latter's express pace. Conway also copped a few blows to his arm off Wood's bowling.
"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,” Devon Conway added.
The first Test at Lord's is evenly poised after the end of Day 2, with England fighting back to reach 111-2 after losing two early wickets. But New Zealand still lead by 267 runs.