England have defeated New Zealand in the First Test at Christchurch today despite a record-breaking 222 from Nathan Astle. Although the tourists completed victory by 98 runs with a day to spare, the contest was much closer than the scoreline indicates thanks to Astle's fastest double century in Test history as the hosts chased 550 runs.
Astle broke the previous best of 212 balls set by Australia's Adam Gilchrist against South Africa only three weeks ago by reaching the landmark off only 153 deliveries. He progressed from 100 to 200 in only 39 balls before finally falling for 222.
Afterwards, England captain Nasser Hussain admitted that his county's victory today was all the more significant considering Astle's record-breaking antics. "For us to win a game when the wicket just got better and better and they batted at the best of times in both innings just shows we have a bit of character about us. We won a Test match by nearly 100 runs at the end of it and that's how it'll look in a few years time, but that was a magnificent Test match."
"Astle struck the ball brilliantly. We mixed it up, we bowled slower balls, bouncers, yorkers and wherever you bowled it, he just hit it for six and you have to give credit to the bloke because it was a great innings," he added.
Filed by Amanda Fennelly
