It was 23 years back when Nathan Astle went all guns blazing in the second innings against England in a Test match at Christchurch in 2002.
New Zealand have produced several natural batting talents over a period of time, with Martin Crowe being the pioneer of it. Stephen Fleming, Brendon McCullum and Ross Taylor carried that legacy forward, and Kane Williamson took it to another level. However, a few players remained under the radar and one such was Nathan Astle who scored 4702 runs in ODIs and 7090 in Tests.
On this day, Nathan Astle played one of the most ferocious knocks in Test cricket history.(X Image/@Kiwiscricketfan)
The swashbuckling batter retired from international cricket in 2007, but he still holds an incredible record for the fastest double century in Test cricket history – 153 balls. It was one of the iconic knocks in Test cricket history, which went in a losing cause. It was exactly 23 years from today when Astle went all guns blazing in the second innings against England in a Test match at Christchurch in 2002. The right-handed batter fought a lone battle in a mammoth 550-run target with his ferocious 222-run knock. He smashed 28 fours and 11 sixes in his 168-ball stay in the middle.
The extraordinary thing about that incredible knock was the acceleration between 100 to 200. He completed his century in 114 balls, then just put his foot on the accelerator and shifted it to the top gear and converted 200 in 153 balls. He took just 39 balls to score the elevate from 100 to 200. He showed the cricketing world a glimpse of T20 cricket three years before its inception.
Astle’s knock went in vain
New Zealand were nine down for 333 and then Astle went all guns blazing after the English bowling attack comprised of Andy Caddick, Matthew Hoggard, Andrew Flintoff and Ashley Giles. The way he was hammering the England bowlers all around the park made it seem like New Zealand might pull off a miracle, but in the end, Hoggard dismissed him for 222. He shared a 118-run standoff 69 balls for the 10th wicket with Chris Crains but, in New Zealand, fell short of 98 runs.
With the 11 maximums during his knock, he is still amongst the list of elite players who have scored 10-plus sixes in a Test innings.
Astle expressed shock that he still holds the record for the fastest double century in Test cricket.
The man himself is quite surprised to see the record stand in this age of fast-paced Test cricket. “The way the game is played today, (surprising that) it has not been knocked over. It is a lot more attacking these days and the pace of the game has changed. That is why I’m quite fond of the fact that it (the record) has lasted as long as it has,” Astle told the Weekend Sport podcast on Newstalk ZB a couple of years back.
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