Devon Conway

An attacking left-handed batsman Devon Conway shifted to New Zealand as an already established cricketer in the South African domestic circuit. It was in the T20 series against West Indies in November 2020 when Conway became just the 2nd New Zealand player of South African origin after Grant Elliot to represent the national team. A year later, after establishing himself in the limited-overs sides, Conway was landing at the Lord’s to make his Test debut for New Zealand. He started his career with a double century on Test debut, became an integral part of the team to clinch the maiden World Test Championship mace. 

A top-order batsman, Conway relishes his opportunity to bat at the top of the order and enjoys his time in all formats of the game. His ability to adapt to different conditions and formats makes him a good option for New Zealand in the coming years. Born and raised in South Africa, Conway made his first-class debut for Gauteng against Eastern In Johannesburg in November 2009. Conway was a prolific run-scorer in the South African domestic circuit and almost played 100 first-class matches there before shifting to New Zealand in 2017. 

After he arrived in New Zealand, Conway played for the University Club and made a mark in the New Zealand domestic circuit while plying his trade for the Wellington Firebirds in the Super Smash. He had to mostly remain in the shadows of Tom Blundell in the initial years but a call-up to the national team for Blundell paved the way for Conway to become a permanent member in the squad. He went on to make his international debut for New Zealand in November 2020 after becoming eligible to play for the Kiwis in September.

New Zealand Cricket and the national selectors didn’t take too long, named Conway in the A-team for practice matches against the touring West Indies team, in November 2020. Later that month, the Johannesburg-born made his T20I debut for New Zealand against West Indies, at Auckland, where he scored a fluent 44. In the next year, Conway played a brilliant hand in the home series against Pakistan, Australia, and Bangladesh, when he played various match-winning innings to secure the fourth position on the T20I Player Rankings. 

In March 2021, in the absence of Kane Williamson, an emerging Conway got his ODI cap against touring Bangladesh to pile a total of 225 runs at 75, which included his maiden international hundred. A couple of months later, in June, the southpaw toured to the United Kingdom with the national team for the two-match series against England and the WTC final. New Zealand awarded Conway and selected him in front of Tom Blundell to make his debut against England to smash a double-ton. Later in the series, he scored an 80 and ended with a tally of 306 runs to bag the Man of the Series award. The New Zealand opener scored an appealing half-century in the WTC final, on the testing Southampton conditions. 

They say good things come to those who wait. And it seems the wait has ended for Johannesburg-born. The only thing that Conway has to do is to persist with his strengths to achieve big in cricket. The elegant and fluent looking Conway is a treat to watch in Test, but also a white-ball smasher. That means he could be a vital cog for New Zealand in the upcoming marquee world tournaments.

(As of July 2021)