Tom Latham has ended speculation about his future in the New Zealand cricket team with a maiden double-century, effectively batting Sri Lanka out of the first Test on Monday's third day in Wellington.
Latham finished unbeaten on 264 - a world record for an opener carrying their bat through a completed innings. The Black Caps were bowled out for 578 to hold a 296-run first-innings lead, about an hour before stumps.
Tom Southee and Trent Boult reduced the visitors to 3-20 at stumps. Kusal Mendis (5no) and Angelo Mathews (2no) will try to avoid an innings loss inside four days at the Basin Reserve.
Despite the pace-bowling fireworks towards the end of play, the third day belonged to the 26-year-old Latham.
The left-hander was concentration personified as he built on the century he completed on Sunday and brought up his double with a controlled push onto the leg side for a single.
He immediately broke into a grin as he trotted through to complete the run and become the 15th New Zealand batsman to score a Test double century and first since Ross Taylor's 290 against Australia in November, 2015 in Perth.
His score is the sixth-highest for New Zealand, with Brendon McCullum's 302, on the same ground against India in 2014, still the benchmark.
Latham, whose place in the side while probably had not been under serious threat, had begun to be questioned after a lean run.
Since making 177 in early 2017 against Bangladesh, he has scored a total of 488 runs in 19 innings at an average of 27.11, almost 10 runs lower than his career average.
In that period, he passed 50 just four times.
Latham said it was pleasing to put a really competitive total on the board.
"Those milestones are nice, though they're not the milestones you look to get. I'm more happy about the team doing really well as a batting unit, to come from the (UAE, where NZ beat Pakistan in their recent Test series) to these batting conditions and to put up a really good score is very pleasing."
Latham said he had no thought of the records that were falling as he occupied the crease for most of the second and third days.
"I had no idea around that sort of stuff but, when you pick those sort of things off, it's very nice, I'm sure, later on in life," he said.
Latham played the anchor role on Sunday to a fluent captain Kane Williamson and continued to accumulate on Monday as the rest of the line-up took a more-aggressive approach.
Only BJ Watling from the top seven failed to get going on a placid pitch, with Taylor and Henry Nicholls both scoring 50, while Colin de Grandhomme hit three fours and three sixes in his 49.
Jeet Raval (43) and Williamson (91) were dismissed on Sunday.
AP
