Devon Conway has evolved as an all-format player for New Zealand. Last year, the New Zealand opener smashed a double century on his Test debut against England and reached several milestones on the way. And over the last twelve months, he has had an impact on franchise cricket as well.
Last year, just after the historic Test debut, he featured in the Vitality Blast for Somerset and then went to The Hundred. And earlier this year, Conway was in India, donning the Chennai Super Kings colours in the Indian Premier League.
In the seven outings for the Chennai outfit, Conway amassed 252 runs with an average of 42.00, while last year, he scored 309 runs in eight outings for Somerset. And, with enough game time and confidence under his belt, Conway has eventually managed to master the T20 format.
In the six ODIs that he featured in this year for New Zealand, he scored 138, while seven Tests this year saw him amass 539 runs with two centuries and a 92. This being the year of the T20 World Cup, the focus for the teams have been more on the shorter format, and opening the innings for the Kiwis, Conway has indeed made a mark.
He admits that T20 cricket is all about momentum. In the IPL this year, he had a low-key start at CSK, and then returned to South Africa for his wedding. But when he rejoined the team again, he stamped his class with three successive half-centuries. And during the tournament, Conway had admitted that he would sit with Mahendra Singh Dhoni or an Ambati Rayudu and learn a thing or two. The season, which saw CSK struggling, was also a learning curve for the New Zealand batter. It taught him how to stand up for the team in crunch times.
That he implemented those learnings to his game was evident from the last innings before his unbeaten 92 against Australia in the Super-12 opener of the T20 World Cup on Saturday. Ahead of the big-ticket tournament, the 31-year-old batter piled on 233 runs for New Zealand in the tri-series, which involved Bangladesh, and Pakistan along with the home team.
So, when Conway walked out to bat at the Sydney Cricket Ground, he was buoyed with confidence. He knows he has the ability and the momentum by his side, all that’s needed is some determination to take on Australia’s pace battery. Of course, his young colleague and good friend Finn Allen took the pressure off with 14 runs from Mitchell Starc’s opening over. But even then, Conway made sure that he stayed in the moment and did not get distracted by the crowd, the cheers and the noise.
“We certainly know they are the big three there (the Australian pace trio). It’s a classy bowling attack with the three of them together. I have to give a lot of credit to Finn because the way he played and put them under pressure allowed me to get those balls that were slightly looser,” Conway said after guiding his side to a win on Australian soil after eleven years.
“In T20 cricket, if you put bowlers under pressure, no matter how good you are, it's quite a tough gig. I think a lot of credit has to go to Finn for the way he played from the (beginning),” he said.
The two have played together for a long time at the Wellington Firebirds, and that chemistry worked wonders in the international arena as well. “I say to him to try to play with freedom, and he tries to say the same to me. Yeah, we just try and take that into any game we play,” he said.
While the two relied on their natural game to get going, Conway admits that for him, it’s all about looking at who the opponent bowler is and fixing his strategy accordingly.
“We know that the grounds in Australia are certainly quite big, so there are a lot of pockets in the field to try and maximise those twos. Especially after the Powerplay, it's about trying to be smart as a partnership, trying to grab those twos while you can whilst still trying to score a boundary now and then,” he said.
After a winning start, New Zealand still has a long way to go in the tournament, and now that the focus will be on young Finn, the Black Caps would also hope that Conway - their man of all formats - also keeps the momentum going. The IPLs and the other franchise leagues have taught him to be mentally tough, and on the world stage, it’s time for Conway to put those learnings to practice.
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