Wellington Firebirds batsman Devon Conway will bring up another century when he takes to the Basin Reserve for round three of the Plunket Shield against the Auckland Aces tomorrow.
The 28-year-old will bring up 100 first-class matches, just a week on from rewriting the record books with a majestic 327 not out against Canterbury at the Basin.
The New Zealand Domestic Player of the Year picked up where he left off last season, eclipsing Michael Papps’ 316 not out to notch the highest ever first-class score for Wellington.
It was also the most runs ever scored by a batsman at the Basin Reserve, and his 66 in the second innings took him past the great Bert Sutcliffe for most runs ever scored by a batsman in a New Zealand first-class match.
“It was a pretty special experience to be able to watch Devon do what he did at the Basin last week,” said Firebirds head coach Glenn Pocknall.
“100 first-class matches is an incredible achievement and is just reward for a guy who puts in a huge amount of hard work day in day out behind the scenes.”
Conway’s triple century was the highlight, but a brave performance from an inexperienced Firebirds bowling unit signed off the win.
Allrounder Malcolm Nofal picked up six wickets, while skipper Michael Bracewell, Jamie Gibson and debutant Michael Snedden all picked up their maiden first-class wickets.
“We were able to set a really strong platform for the bowlers and for that bowling unit to then go and bowl out a quality Canterbury side twice, especially under that pressure at the end of day four shows the character in this group,” said Pocknall.
“A number of guys really stepped up in the absence of our regular bowling leads and that’s really pleasing to see at such an early stage of a long season.”
Pocknall makes two changes to last week’s squad - Rachin Ravindra and Ben Sears are available again and come in for Andrew Fletcher and Adam Leonard – paceman Hamish Bennett and Ollie Newton are still nursing injuries.
The Firebirds are quickly making their home ground a fortress – they’ve lost just one of their last ten Plunket Shield matches at the Basin Reserve and have lost just once in their last six Plunket Shield matches against Auckland home and away.
“We’ve had a really good start to the season, and it’s been pleasing to see everyone step up and contribute so far” said Pocknall.
“Tomorrow will be another good test for us, Auckland are a good side and we’re looking forward to another challenge.”
Play gets underway from the Basin Reserve at 10.30am tomorrow morning – spectator entry is free.
Wellington Firebirds squad | Plunket Shield | Round Three
Michael Bracewell (Eastern Suburbs) (C)
Tom Blundell (Karori)
Fraser Colson (Eastern Suburbs)
Devon Conway (VUWCC)
Jamie Gibson (Eastern Suburbs)
Iain McPeake (Hutt District)
Malcolm Nofal (VUWCC)
Rachin Ravindra (Hutt District)
Ben Sears (Hutt District)
Michael Snedden (Karori)
Logan Van Beek (Taita)
Peter Younghusband (Karori)
Plunket Shield Round Three
Wellington Firebirds v Auckland Aces
Friday 8 November – Monday 11 November
Basin Reserve, Wellington
Article added: Thursday 07 November 2019
