In 2009, Devon Conway made his first-class debut alongside Temba Bavuma. On Thursday, they will be opponents in the Test arena.

Conway and Buvuma were in the Gauteng team that played against Easterns in a Provincial Three-Day Challenge match. Seventeen-year-old Conway made nought and 10, while Bavuma scored 33 and five.

Both batsmen have come a long way since then, with Conway opting to leave South Africa for New Zealand when he was 26 and Bavuma pushing on to earn Proteas selection.

After making lots of runs for Wellington and serving the three-year residency period, Conway was called up to the Black Caps.

In his first Test knock, against England at Lord’s in June last year, he scored 200 off 347 balls before being run out.

Five Tests into his career and he has made 623 runs at an average of 69.22 with three centuries and two fifties.

Conway’s sixth Test will be the first against the country of his birth – and Bavuma.

“It’s been a long time since I made my first-class debut playing alongside Temba, but it was good to see him at breakfast this morning [at the hotel] and have a small catch-up,” he told Stuff.co.nz.

“That’s been a long time in the past and we’re certainly going to be putting up a good fight out in the middle [in the first Test].”

Conway said he had consulted another SA-born Black Cap, fast bowler Neil Wagner, after the Bangladesh series about what to expect when playing against the Proteas (Wagner has done so six times).

“He said ultimately it’s just another game of cricket and don’t look into it too much. Don’t try and be someone you’re not. Just try and do what you do and the rest will take care of itself.”

Black Caps coach Gary Stead doesn’t expect Conway to have any issues.

“You’ve got Devon and Neil Wagner, so we’ve got a couple of people who were born in South Africa, but from our perspective they’re true blue Kiwis now and even though they might have slight accents at times they’re certainly working hard for the silver fern playing for our team as well,” he added.