What makes Devon Conway so special?

Aslan Karatsev is an enigma that has left Tennis fans across the globe stumped. Two years ago, the Russian was ranked outside the world’s Top 300, could barely make ends meet and was destined to wane away with time. For fans, at the start of the calendar year 2021, Karatsev was nothing more than ‘another mediocre Russian journeyman’. Fast forward to May 2021, the same journeyman is the 26th ranked player in the world, 7th in the ‘Race to Turin’ and the joint eighth favourite to lift the 2021 French Open title. 

After four years of tearing the domestic circuit apart like no one has ever done before, Conway was awarded a central contract by New Zealand even before he made his international debut. Now 17 matches old in international cricket, Conway has won a Man of the Series award, is officially the fourth best T20I batter in the world and his Test debut - which is imminent - is being described by many as the most anticipated maiden appearance in New Zealand’s Test history.

Undoubtedly such success cannot be achieved without talent, but how did Conway go from a middling journeyman in South Africa to a world-beater in New Zealand in the span of a few months? According to his Wellington coach Glenn Pocknall, it’s Conway’s mental fortitude that has elevated him to a level that he’s become one of the best cricketers not just in his country, but in the entire world. 

“A lot of batsmen are quality and they look good, but what separates him is his ability to cope with the demands of cricket at any level,” Pocknall tells SportsCafe.

“Setbacks are inevitable in cricket but it’s how you deal with them that ultimately will help define you as a player. I think that’s a huge part of his success. It’s not necessarily something you can coach - you either have that character and resilience or you don’t. He’s certainly shown that he has that resilience as a player.”

This resilience Pocknall talks about was evident in the knock that catapulted Conway into the limelight, the 99* vs Australia. At 19/3 in 4 overs, the Kiwis looked destined to be crushed by their Trans-Tasman rivals, but a ludicrously mature and skilful knock from the southpaw not just took Kiwis to victory, but also made sure the world knew exactly who ‘Conway’ was. But while the assault against the Aussies made the world take notice of Conway, the southpaw had caught the eye of Pocknall in just his second-ever game for Wellington. 

That the knock was played by someone playing their second ever game for the club was astonishing, but what made Conway’s knock even more remarkable was that it came against a strong Central Districts attack that boasted of Adam Milne and Blair Tickner, both of whom were in a mood to kill. Pocknall, who then was working as the high-performance coach of the Wellington side, says that the superhuman grit and resilience Conway showed in that knock made it evident that Wellington had a special player in their hands. 

“He’d been in and around for a while - he came in, made his debut and did well - but he got a really good hundred against Central Districts at the Basin Reserve. It was a hundred that was a really fighting hundred. It didn’t look pretty but they threw everything at him. It was a very good attack that comprised Adam Milne and Blair Tickner. Two international bowlers throwing everything at him and he just grafted and showed that resilience. That innings showed his mentality and his resilience as a player.”

At present, there are only two potential places where Conway can slot into the Test side - the opening slot which is occupied by Blundell and the No.5 slot which is occupied by Henry Nicholls - and all talks from the New Zealand camp hint towards the southpaw being utilized as an opener. Negating a brand new Dukes ball against James Anderson and Stuart Broad in June is right up there as the toughest task in world cricket, but Pocknall is confident that, if given an opportunity, Conway will certainly succeed as an opener, thanks to his versatility.

“He’s batted a majority of his career at 3. He’s opened on occasions for us in Plunket Shield but in other formats, he’s shown that he’s got that versatility. He certainly has the skill to defend well, leave well and take the attack to the bowlers if required. I think if he’s given the opportunity to open the batting for New Zealand, he will certainly do a great job.”

Conway’s technique will, obviously, be challenged more against a red Dukes ball in Test cricket, but where exactly should the bowlers bowl to trouble him? Pocknall does not know that, but he has a piece of very important advice for all bowlers: don’t drop the ball short.

“His biggest strength would be playing square off the back-foot. He can play 360* but we play at the Basin Reserve, the bounciest and the fastest wicket in New Zealand. I’ve seen him get so many runs here by bowlers bowling too short to him and giving him too much width. If I were an opposition fast bowler, I’d be trying to keep it away from those areas because he really makes you pay when the ball is short,” the Wellington coach says.

“It is very hard to pick one. I said a couple of years ago that 50-over cricket was his strongest format because it bridges both Test match cricket and T20 but I’m just not sure anymore. He’s performed so well in all formats, so it’s impossible to pick a single format as his best.”