Coming to Lord’s on the back of a brilliant 176 in defeat in the first Test, New Zealand captain Bevan Congdon repeated the trick at the Home of Cricket, completing a pair of remarkable centuries.
Having bowled England out for 253 in the first innings, the Kiwi allrounder was in early on day 2, and soon after found his side 10/2.
What followed was not always pretty – he had found the boundary only 7 times by the time he reached three figures just before the close of play – but was masterful in its resilience. His eventual 175 took 8 and a half hours, and set up New Zealand’s highest ever Test score at the time, as they built a lead of almost 300.
A rear-guard 178 from Keith Fletcher meant that, for the second Test in a row, Congdon’s batting would not be rewarded with a win, and the Lord’s Test was drawn. But his back-to-back scores of 170 cemented Congdon’s place as one of New Zealand’s greats, earned him the honour of being one of Wisden’s Cricketer’s of the Year, and, of course, a sport on Lord’s Honours Boards.