New Zealand’s Devon Conway became just the seventh batsman in Test cricket’s 144-year history to make a double century on debut with a score of exactly 200 against England at Lord’s on Thursday.

The South Africa-born opener’s marathon effort of more than nine-and-a-half hours was the cornerstone of New Zealand’s first-innings total of 378.

Conway was in sight of becoming the first player to bat throughout their very first Test-match innings.

But with only last man Neil Wagner for company, he was run out after lunch on the second day of this two-match series, having faced 347 balls, including 22 fours.

But he had still joined an exclusive club, with Mathew Sinclair the only other New Zealand batsman to have made a double century on his Test bow.

Left-hander Conway had already broken the record for the highest innings by a batsman making their career Test debut at Lord’s when, on Wednesday, he surpassed the 131 made by India’s Souray Ganguly in 1996.

Conway’s innings, which ensured a place on the famed dressing room honours board at the ‘home of cricket’, was also the second highest by a New Zealand batsman in a Test at Lord’s behind Martin Donnelly’s 206 in 1949.

Double hundreds on Test debut (score, batsman, team, opponent, venue, season):

287     Reginald Foster  ENG v AUS  Sydney       1903/04

222 no  Jacques Rudolph  RSA v BAN  Chittagong   2002/03

214     Lawrence Rowe    WIS v NZL  Kingston     1971/72

214     Mathew Sinclair  NZL v WIS  Wellington   1999/00

210 no  Kyle Mayers      WIS v BAN  Chattogram   2020/21

201 no  Brendon Kuruppu  SRI v NZL  Colombo CCC  1986/87

200     Devon Conway     NZL v ENG  Lord’s       2021

Test debut hundred at Lord’s (total, team, opposition, season):

200     Devon Conway     NZL v ENG               2021

131     Sourav Ganguly   IND v ENG               1996

126 no  Matt Prior       ENG v WIS               2007

112     Andrew Strauss   ENG v NZL               2004

107     Harry Graham     AUS v ENG               1893

107     John Hampshire   ENG v WIS               1969

Highest scores by a New Zealand batsman in a Test at Lord’s (total, player, season) — England the opposition in all cases: 

206     Martin Donnelly                          1949

200     Devon Conway                             2021

175     Bevan Congdon                            1973

142     Martin Crowe                             1994

132     Kane Williamson                          2015

123     Geoff Howarth                            1978

120     Stewie Dempster                          1931

106     Martin Crowe                             1986

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