New Zealand opener Devon Conway might have impressed with his brilliant hundred on Test debut, but the batsman has said the thought of scoring a hundred in his first match in the longest format never crossed his mind. Riding on the debutant's ton, New Zealand marched to a strong position against England on Day 1 of the ongoing first Test at the Lord's Cricket Ground on Wednesday.
"That [scoring a century on debut] never came across my mind. Just getting a Test debut, a chance to play at this level, was all I thought about," ESPNcricinfo quoted Conway as saying.
"Very happy, grateful for the opportunity from Cricket Wellington and also the Black Caps as well. A pretty special feeling, and one I certainly didn't think about when I made that move," he added.
Conway also revealed skipper Kane Williamson's first words to him when he walked back to the dressing room after an eventful first day against England.
Watch the video here:
"When we arrived at Lord's a couple days ago we walked into the changing room and got the opportunity to have a look at the all the legends and the names up on that honours board," said Conway.
"Funny enough I had a conversation with Kane asking what it feels like to see your name on that board [for Williamson's hundred at Lord's in 2015], and the first thing he said when I went up into the changing room was 'Now you know what it's like, bro'. It's pretty cool, it's a great place and I'm grateful my name can go up there," he added.
Conway became the sixth cricketer to hit a Test ton on his debut at the Lord's. He also broke former Indian skipper Sourav Ganguly's record at the venue.
Ganguly had scored 131 on his Test debut at Lord's in 1996 which was also the highest score by a Test debutant at the venue until Conway scored an unbeaten 136. Interestingly, Conway and Ganguly also share their birthday on July 8.
"It was a pretty surreal moment, I couldn't have dreamed for a better start to my Test career," said Conway.
"Last thing I want to do is get tentative, and if I'm in a look-to-score mindset, that gets me in the best positions, the decision-making is a bit clearer and that's when I'm at my best. That might be my strength right now," he added.
Meanwhile, New Zealand finished with a score of 246/3 at stumps, with Conway and Henry Nicholls still at the crease on 136 and 46 respectively. They have extended their fourth-wicket partnership to 132 runs.