England 228 (Hussain 106) and 468 for6 dec (Thorpe 200*, Flintoff 137) beat New Zealand 147 (Hoggard 7-63) and 451 (Astle 222, Richardson 76, Caddick 6-122) by 98 runs
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Some staggering, superhuman hitting from Nathan Astle, who creamed the fastest double-century in Test history, wasn't enough to stop England winning their third successive Christchurch Test and taking a 1-0 lead in the three-match series.

Astle blasted a murderous 222 from just 168 balls to provide one final twist in a pulsating match, and England breathed a huge sigh of relief when he cut wildly at Matthew Hoggard and was caught behind by James Foster. While Astle was blasting away, the efforts of Andy Caddick, who earlier took five of New Zealand's six wickets to fall by tea, were virtually forgotten, and although England had won, it almost felt like a defeat. Whatever it was, it was one of the most topsy-turvy Tests of all time.

When the ninth wicket fell at 333, and a half-fit Chris Cairns limped out with a runner, New Zealand still needed 217. Astle had 134 and proceeded to take matters into his own hands, and England to the cleaners. He had already hit 18 off Hoggard's first over with the second new ball, and after losing Ian Butler, smashed 23 off Hoggard's next. Astle moved to 150 from 136 balls, sliced Caddick over third man for six, then hit the next delivery over the stand at extra-cover. The umpires called for a new ball of a different kind.

Astle began Caddick's next over with three sixes: lofted over cover, pulled over square leg, then timed straight down the ground. A second new ball had to be dug out of a box and Caddick had bowled three overs for 45. It was utter carnage, and the New Zealand section of the crowd, until now completely drowned out by the Barmy Army, began to find their voice. The first nine overs with the new ball had been plundered for 111.

Astle reached his double-century with – unusually – a sweep for a single off Ashley Giles. It had taken him 153 balls, which was 59 fewer than the previous quickest double-hundred in Tests: Adam Gilchrist needed a painstaking 212 against South Africa at Johannesburg three weeks ago. Astle's second hundred had taken just 39 balls.

But he wasn't finished yet. With six men on the boundary, Astle hooked Hoggard for six to bring up the 100 partnership off only 56 balls, and New Zealand soon moved past their highest fourth-innings total of 440. Astle drove Hoggard straight for his 11th six as if he were in the nets, and the deficit was now into double figures.

So you could understand the relief when Hoggard found Astle's outside-edge and Foster clung on. Never again will Hoggard greet an analysis of 1 for 142 with such delight. Astle hung his head as if he had been dismissed for a king pair, and England hugged each other like long-lost friends. It had been Test cricket's Greatest Comeback That Nearly Was.

Earlier – and how much earlier it seemed – England had been taken to the verge of victory by some high-class seam bowling from Caddick, who made Stephen Fleming's pre-match war of words suddenly sound like a round of misfired blanks.

Faced with the task of surviving for 187 overs, New Zealand's best chance seemed to be the weather. But when Saturday dawned bright and breezy, it apparently became a question of losing no more than three wickets in the day and then hoping for the best tomorrow. Caddick, though, wanted a free Sunday. In the seventh over of the day he moved one away from Matthew Horne and found the outside edge on the way through to James Foster (42 for 1). Horne had taken 53 balls over his 4.

In his next over Caddick proved too much for Lou Vincent, when a seaming delivery flew off the edge to Mark Butcher at second slip (53 for 2). Vincent, the selectors' choice for the No. 3 spot ahead of Mathew Sinclair, was out for 0 to go with his dreadful first-innings 12, when he could have been dismissed three times.

For a while Mark Richardson showed why his Test average is well over 50 with some meaty sweeps off Giles, although he was lucky to survive a shout for leg-before from Matthew Hoggard when he had 61. Richardson had made 76 out of 119 when he was less lucky to be given out caught behind – it was hard to say whether the ball brushed his glove – as he tried to evade a bouncer in the first over of a new Caddick spell.

Stephen Fleming took 25 balls to get off the mark, but grew in confidence as Hoggard drifted time and again onto his pads, and for a while after lunch he and Astle ran England ragged. But Flintoff swung one enough to kiss Fleming's inside edge on the way through to Foster, and with Fleming out for 48 it was 189 for 4.

Astle continued to blaze away, straight-driving Giles for six, but New Zealand lost their fifth wicket on 242 when Craig McMillan gave Caddick a tame return catch and departed for 24. For the second spell in a row, Caddick had struck in his first over.

Adam Parore was bowled leg stump by Caddick for 1 off an inside-edge as he tried to shoulder arms (252 for 6), and it was 300 for 7 when Daniel Vettori, on 12, swung Giles straight to Flintoff at short midwicket. Flintoff won an appeal for leg-before to send back Chris Drum for a duck, although the ball appeared to be going down the leg side – another bad decision by umpire de Silva – and the writing was on the wall when Caddick had Butler caught behind for 4 to pick up his sixth wicket and take England to the brink.

Then Astle began to tear up the script. And by the time he'd finished, English legs had almost turned to jelly. Those lucky enough to be here had witnessed something very special indeed.

Lawrence Booth is assistant editor of Wisden.com. You can read his reports here throughout the tour.

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