A KNOCK FOR THE AGES

 

Image Credit – ESPN CricInfo.

Venue – Jade Stadium, Christchurch [March 13-17, 2002].

Aggressive cricket is the talk of the town. In the earlier decades it was only confined to white-ball cricket, but since Brendon McCullum's takeover of the English Test team, aggressive batting has become a common phenomenon in the red-ball arena as well. BazBall - TravBall - JaisBall. We have multiple versions now. However, nothing comes close to Nathan Astle's iconic double hundred in Christchurch. At a time when defeat looked imminent, Astle stood strong and delivered one of the finest cricketing performances ever seen.

The hosts were set a target of a mammoth 550 runs to win the game. Moreover, the New Zealand score read 119/3 when Nathan Astle joined skipper Fleming in the middle. It was almost certain that the Kiwis would lose the test. But this is when Astle counter-attacked and took everyone by surprise. In an innings which lasted for around 4 hours, Astle scored a monumental 222 from just 168 deliveries. At a time when six-hitting in a test match was not a common phenomenon, Astle hit 11 sixes in addition to the 28 magnificent boundaries.

It is pertinent to note that the innings was not just about slogging and power hitting but was an elegant knock with proper cricketing shots on display. However, the most interesting thing about this knock is the fact that most of Astle's runs came along with tailenders. The man stood all alone against the English team and took the attack by storm. Caddick, who picked up 6 wickets in that innings, was also taken to the cleaners. At one stage it even appeared that Astle could be impossible here, but Hoggard got him at last for 222, with the hosts getting bowled out for 451 runs in their second innings.

The English won the match by 98 runs and took a 1-0 lead in the series, but it was Nathan Astle who received the maximum amount of praise for his double hundred. After all, the way he batted that day has not been replicated by anyone to date.

To watch the innings of Nathan Astle, Click Here.