OTD: Fastest double hundred in Test cricket by New Zealand player Nathan Astle against England in 2002

In this article, we will discuss On This Day: Fastest Double Hundred in Test Cricket by New Zealand player Nathan Astle against England in 2002. Former New Zealand batter Nathan Astle played one of the best knocks of his career on this day in 2002. He smashed the fastest double century in the history of Test cricket. Astle achieved this milestone in the first Test of the 3-match Test series played between New Zealand and England in 2002. 

First Innings 

On the first day, New Zealand won the toss and elected to field first. This decision paid them dividends as the English batters found it difficult to deal with the Kiwi bowling attack. In the very first over New Zealand dismissed Marcus Trescothick and Mark Butcher to put England under pressure. The visitors gradually came out of the crisis but still could not post a big total. New Zealand restricted the opposition to 228 runs in the first innings. 

When New Zealand came out to bat, the story was no different. The English bowlers found themselves in complete control as the wickets kept falling at regular intervals. A brilliant spell from Matthew Hoggard forced the home team to put down their arms. Hoggard picked up 7 wickets and helped England wrap up New Zealand’s first innings for just 147 runs. 

Second Innings

In the second innings, England put on a much-improved batting performance. Although they struggled in the beginning, a double century from Graham Thorpe put them ahead in the contest. Thorpe was assisted by Andrew Flintoff who scored 137 runs to guide England to 468 runs before they declared. As a result, the visitors gave New Zealand a mammoth target of 550 runs to chase. 

The Kiwis were already much behind in the race and they had to do something extraordinary to clinch this match. The experienced Nathan Astle showed the way with his ultra-aggressive innings. On one end it was Astle taking on the bowlers and thrashing them brutally but on the other, there was not much assistance. The Kiwi batting unit could not stitch big partnerships still it was Astle’s 222 runs off just 168 deliveries that brought New Zealand in a touching distance of the target. But England managed to prevent and restrict the Kiwis to 451 runs to win the match by 98 runs.