Latham, Conway pile misery on England with mammoth 317-run stand

Tom Latham and Devon Conway rewrote the record books with a 317-run opening stand before England fought back with four late wickets on an otherwise one-sided opening day of the series-deciding third Test at Trent Bridge.

Having won the toss on a hot day on a flat surface, Latham's decision to bat first could hardly have worked out better. Despite missing two of the heroes from last week's win at The Oval in Glenn Phillips (side strain) and Matt Henry (calf injury), New Zealand piled on 361 for 4, thanks largely to the mammoth stand between Latham (151) and Conway (157). It was New Zealand's third-highest opening partnership in Test cricket.

England welcomed back Ben Stokes, Gus Atkinson and Jamie Smith, but they spent most of the day chasing leather. New Zealand went through both the morning and afternoon sessions without losing a wicket, leaving England wicketless for the first 53 overs as Latham and Conway barely put a foot wrong.

Conway got a major reprieve on 71 when England chose not to review an LBW appeal. Bashir had beaten the bat and struck him on the pad, but Smith was convinced behind the stumps that there was an inside edge and talked Stokes out of the review. Smith then missed a straightforward catch to give Latham a life on 129, off Atkinson.

Latham brought up his 17th Test hundred before going on to 151 while Conway, after a quiet start to the series, returned to form with his eighth Test century. The pair stretched their stand beyond 300 as England kept trying different plans but found little help from the surface.

The breakthrough finally came after Tea through Stokes, who had looked England's most threatening bowler all day. Latham edged behind for 151, ending a stand that lasted 72.1 overs. Root then struck in the very next over as Conway holed out for 157, suddenly giving England a way back two long sessions.

The second new ball brought more reward. Atkinson dismissed Rachin Ravindra after Shoaib Bashir's excellent boundary save kept him on strike, and then Archer had Henry Nicholls caught behind with the final ball of the day.

Brief Scores:New Zealand 361/4 (Devon Conway 157, Tom Latham 151; Jofra Archer 1-53) vs England