'A Very Special Feeling'; Devon Conway Talks On His Maiden Test Hundred

New Zealand batter Devon Conway stated on Saturday that getting his maiden Test century at home is a 'very special feeling'. He was appreciative of veteran batter Ross Taylor being present at the crease when he brought up his hundred.

Conway kicked off 2022 in great fashion, scoring 122 as New Zealand reached 258/5 at stumps on day one of the first Test against Bangladesh at the Bay Oval. Conway also became the sixth Test batter to score a century in the first innings in home and away matches.

"It is a very special feeling. I think today, firstly playing in New Zealand in a Test match, it was very special to be out there. And then personally, it was a great feeling to have Ross Taylor there out in the middle with me when I achieved that milestone. He was very positive. Told me to soak it in, and congratulated me. It will last in my memory for a very long time," said Conway in the virtual press conference.

The 30-year-old was returning to the side after a self-caused hand injury in the Men's T20 World Cup semi-final against England that had forced him to miss Tests against India. In the practice match against the visiting Bangladesh side, Conway had got out for a duck. Despite an uneven build-up to the series, Conway managed to put New Zealand on top.

"I haven't had a proper hit in the past eight weeks, so it was nice to contribute. I probably had a good four-to-five hard sessions in and around that practice match. It was a little disappointing I wasn't able to spend more time out in the middle in that practice game, but it still allowed me the opportunity to get into the nets and try and drill how I wanted to go about things if selected for this first test. Hopefully, we can capitalise tomorrow as a team."

Apart from scoring 122, Conway put on 138 runs for the second wicket with opener Will Young, who made 52. The duo had to work hard for surviving at the crease and then go for the shots.

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"I think the two of us, we both decided that we needed to be as patient as possible -- identify that the Bangladesh bowlers were bowling really well at that period. And the surface was assisting them as well, so we had to earn the right to start playing those more attacking shots later in the day."