Wellington head coach Glenn Pocknall has praised former Lions and Dolphins batsman Devon Conway, who has been cleared by the International Cricket Council to play for New Zealand.

Conway played franchise cricket in South Africa as recently as 2017, but has since forged a successful career with Wellington in New Zealand.

The talented left-hander struck a first-class 327 not out against Canterbury in October 2019 and earlier this year hit List A tons against Central Districts and Northern Districts.

‘He came to New Zealand for a new start and cricket wasn’t necessarily the main motivation. It was having a quality life. No family here, just moved here with his partner,’ Pocknall was quoted as saying by bdcrictime.

‘We receive 100s of players saying they coming every season and the first point we look at is their domestic record. When we heard Devon was coming and looked at his statistics from SA, we thought someone was having us on. His record was outstanding.

‘You could see straight away he was a very good player. The pitches in NZ are slightly different to those of SA. In a short space of time and some hard work he turned himself into an even better player and dominated first-class cricket.’

Former Cape Cobras spinner Michael Rippon, who plays for Otago, is also nearing qualification for New Zealand.

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