South-African cricketer Devon Conway set to play for New Zealand

Devon Conway

The International Cricket Council (ICC) on Tuesday cleared the South-African born Devon Conway to play for New Zealand from this year onwards. Devon plays for Wellington is now eligible to play for New Zealand from August 28 as granted by the ICC. 

Devon Conway

He is likely to make his debut for New Zealand in a series against India A or Bangladesh. The 28-year-old batsman left Johannesburg in September 2017 has now been granted “exceptional circumstance dispensation” which means he is now fully eligible to play for New Zealand. 

Playing at the provisional level of cricket in South Africa, which is the second tier of the country’s cricket, failed to make an impact on his performances. But after moving to New Zealand, Conway’s batting has improved as he has scored 1598 runs at the stellar average of 72.63 in 17 first-class matches so far, scoring four centuries. He also scored a massive 327 runs against Canterbury last October and also created a record by becoming the eighth batsman to score a triple century on the New Zealand soil. 

“It’s really awesome to have that solid date, 28th of August, as a reminder to say that you’re pretty close. In saying that, it doesn’t guarantee selection,” ESPNcricinfo quoted Conway as saying.

“So I am pretty happy to hear about that, but you’ve just got to keep working hard and hopefully get an opportunity to break into that Black Caps team, which is pretty awesome at the moment – you’ve got world-class players there, and it won’t be easy to get into that team,” he added.

Conway may have to wait a bit more as the current situation due to the coronavirus pandemic has brought almost all the sports at a halt. All the ongoing cricket series and tournaments have been put on hold for the time being. In fact, Conway hasn’t been able to train due to the lockdown but he is doing his indoor training and some eye exercises to keep himself fit.