Data check: With century on Test debut at Lord’s, Devon Conway emulates Sourav Ganguly

Test debut. Lord’s Cricket Ground. Left-handed batsman. Born on July 8. A century.

In a remarkable piece of coincidence, 25 years after Sourav Ganguly achieved his feat at the Home of Cricket, New Zealand’s Devon Conway became only the third man in the history of the game to score a Test century on debut.

The 29-year-old Conway joined a select group of cricketers on Wednesday by marking his Test debut with a hundred at Lord’s.

The South Africa-born opener found himself thrust into the action straight away after New Zealand captain Kane Williamson won the toss and batted in the first of a two-match series against England.

But while star batsman Williamson and the experienced Ross Taylor both fell cheaply, Conway pressed on to a 163-ball century, reaching the landmark with a flamboyant whipped legside four, his 11th boundary, off England debutant fast bowler Ollie Robinson.

At stumps on day one, Conway had made an unbeaten 136 in a total of 246/3, having shared an unbroken partnership of 132 with fellow left-hander Henry Nicholls (46 not out). It is already the highest score on debut by a batsman at Lord’s in a Test match.

Only five other batsmen had previously scored a Test debut hundred at Lord’s, with Conway the first New Zealand international to achieve the feat.

Batsmen to have scored Test debut hundred at Lord’s (player, total, team, opposition, year):

Here are some reactions and more numbers from Conway’s special innings:

All statistics for men’s Tests, as there is yet to be a women’s Test played at Lord’s.

Statistics courtesy ESPNCricinfo Statsguru