What's causing Blackcaps batter Conway's struggles and how can he fix them?

One of the glaring lowlights of the Blackcaps' first-Test loss to Sri Lanka was the continuation of Devon Conway's miserable run of form in whites.

The opener never looked comfortable at the crease in Galle, managing 17 off 59 balls in the first innings, before departing in the second over in the following innings with just four runs to his name.

In his last 10 innings dating back to November 2023, Conway has totalled 115 runs at an abysmal average of 11.5 - including a top score of 29. He hasn't reached triple figures since January 2023 (Pakistan in Karachi).

It's been a startling fall from grace for Conway, who burst on to the Test scene in 2021 with a double century against England and at one stage had established himself as one of the most promising new batters on the international stage, named one of Wisden's 2022 top-five cricketers of the year.

According to former Blackcaps head coach Mike Hesson, there is one clear technical area where Conway has been uncharacteristically poor, which he's primarily attributing to the 33-year-old's struggles.

"There's definitely a lack of confidence in terms of the way he's striking the ball," Conway told SENZ's Scotty & Izzy.

"He's struggled through his last five Tests. It's pretty hard to hide from that as a top order player, so it's not just a short term issue and it has started to affect the other forms of the game.

"I think what happens, once you start to get a little bit anxious about your game, you start to hold the bat a little bit tighter. In this instance, he's playing the ball out in front of himself, which he never used to do.

"When you do that, your blade control becomes pretty challenged, and you can often see his blade is either closed or predominantly closed when he's making impact.

"He's really struggling for timing and therefore struggling for confidence, and then it exacerbates and gets worse.

"It's a problem that I'm sure he's well aware of but somebody needs to spend a little bit of time with him and try and get him to start hitting the ball under the eyes again."

With four Test centuries to his name in his relatively short tenure on the Test stage, there's no shortage of footage Conway could look back to as a catalyst for making those requisite adjustments.

Hesson believes the solution could be that simple.

"It's about reliving the times where he's played well," he noted.

"He's a very fine player, he's done it all across the world and in all conditions. So, there's plenty of good memories to go back to and say, 'hey, when you were doing this, what were some of the attributes and what were some of the feelings you had?' Then you can align that with how you strike the ball and the positions you get in.

"But often it is a mindset thing and it's done to relive the good times. If he can start to do that, start to get that feeling back then obviously his ball striking will start to improve as well."

With the second Test starting on Thursday, Conway could find his position in peril, with Will Young waiting in the wings as another option for coach Gary Stead to turn to.

Seamer Tim Southee's recent play has also been a talking point, with suggestions his role as captain is what's keeping his place in the XI secure.

The veteran finished the Test against Sri Lanka with a solitary wicket through 30 overs at the expense of 87 runs,

But Hesson doesn't believe Stead will be making wholesale changes after a 63-run defeat which featured plenty of positives, noting Southee's contribution bowling in tandem with one such stand-out in Will O'Rourke, who finished the match with eight wickets - including five in Sri Lanka's first innings.

"I don't think a lot will change and I don't think it needs to, to be brutally honest," Hesson admitted.

"Will O'Rourke was outstanding with the pace and bounce, and probably the angle back into the right hander - they really struggle with that.

"Tim Southee did the holding job. You can't allow Will O'Rourke to come in and bowl the way he did if you don't have anyone able to hold the innings at the other end, and Southee did that nicely.

"Whether they'll go for a fresh bowler in someone like Matt Henry to compliment O'Rourke, I'm not sure. But you know they will value that ability to to control the game with the old ball as well. And that's what Southee did."