New Zealand vs England Tests June 2021: New Zealand Win 1-0 — Conway 200* on Test Debut (Highest Ever Debut Score vs England, 7th in History), Robinson 7/101 on Debut Then Suspended, Matt Henry 6 Wickets Edgbaston, WTC Final Warm-Up

New Zealand won the 2-match Test series against England in June 2021 by 1-0 — the 1st Test at Lord's drawn and the 2nd at Edgbaston won by 8 wickets. Devon Conway (NZ) and Rory Burns (ENG) shared the Player of the Series award: Conway scored 306 series runs (including 200* on debut); Burns scored 238. The series served as direct match preparation for New Zealand's ICC World Test Championship Final against India on June 18 at Southampton — a final they won. 1st Test Lord's (June 2-6, 2021): Match drawn — NZ 378 & 169/6d; ENG 275 & 170/3. Devon Conway scored 200* off 347 balls (22 fours, 1 six) on his Test debut — becoming the seventh batter in Test history to score a double century on debut, the first to do so at Lord's, and setting the highest individual score on Test debut against England (surpassing George Headley's 176, set in 1930 — an 87-year-old record). Rory Burns scored 132 in England's 1st innings, helping avoid the follow-on and keeping the match level. Ollie Robinson took 7/101 across the match (3/57+4/44) on his own Test debut — among the best debut bowling performances by an England bowler in the 21st century; he also scored 42 with the bat. James Bracey also made his Test debut as England's wicketkeeper. On the same day as Robinson's debut, the ECB suspended him from all international cricket after racist and sexist tweets from 2012-13 were surfaced on social media; Robinson missed the 2nd Test. 2nd Test Edgbaston (June 10-13, 2021): New Zealand won by 8 wickets — ENG 303 & 122; NZ 388 & 41/2. Burns scored 81 and Dan Lawrence scored 67* in England's 1st innings (303). Conway scored 80 and Will Young scored 82 in New Zealand's reply (388, a 85-run lead). Matt Henry took 6 match wickets (3/78 in England's 1st innings, 3/36 in the 2nd) and was Player of the Match. Stuart Broad took 4/48 in New Zealand's 1st innings. England were bowled out for 122 in their 2nd innings; New Zealand knocked off the 38-run target with 8 wickets in hand.

Conway 200* on Debut: The Seventh Double Century in Test Debut History

Devon Conway's 200* at Lord's — made on the opening two days of his Test career — placed him in one of the most exclusive groups in batting history. Only six batters before him had scored a double century on Test debut: Tip Foster (287, England vs Australia 1903), Lawrence Rowe (214, West Indies vs New Zealand 1972), Brendon Kuruppu (201*, Sri Lanka vs New Zealand 1987), Matthew Sinclair (214, New Zealand vs West Indies 1999), Jacques Rudolph (222*, South Africa vs Bangladesh 2003), and Kyle Mayers (210*, West Indies vs Bangladesh 2021). Conway's 200* was the highest score on Test debut against England — George Headley had scored 176 for West Indies at Bridgetown in 1930, a record that had stood for 91 years. It was also the first double century on debut at Lord's. Conway, 29 at the time of his debut, had been brought into the New Zealand Test squad via a consistent run in domestic red-ball cricket in New Zealand and had been available for Test cricket only after completing his residency qualification period in New Zealand (he is South African-born). The innings lasted 5 hours 48 minutes and he remained not out through the end of New Zealand's innings.

Robinson's Debut Seven-For and the Suspension That Followed

Ollie Robinson's 7/101 at Lord's — taken across both innings of his debut Test — was one of the most accomplished debut bowling performances England had produced in the 21st century. His 3/57 in New Zealand's 1st innings and 4/44 in the 2nd, combined with a lower-order 42 with the bat, marked him as an immediately high-quality Test cricketer. However, on the same day his debut began, journalists surfaced racist and sexist tweets Robinson had posted in 2012-13 when he was a teenager. The ECB's Cricket Discipline Commission suspended him from all international cricket pending investigation — meaning he missed the 2nd Test at Edgbaston. Robinson was cleared to return to international cricket later in the 2021 summer after completing the ECB's education programme, and went on to become a regular England Test bowler.