Astle's batting will long in the memory

England were comfortably on course for victory when the injured Chris Cairns, batting at number 11, joined Astle with New Zealand on 333 for nine.

Astle was already threatening to cut loose, but Cairns' arrival at the crease prompted a furious assault on the second new ball which, shared by Caddick and Hoggard, was smashed for 95 runs off only seven overs.

Time and again, the ball sailed into the stands and in his 222 Astle bludgeoned a total of 29 fours and 11 sixes, one short of the record number of sixes in a test innings.

As the mayhem took hold, England clearly started to panic and New Zealand's demanding target suddenly seemed attainable after all.

Bowlers suffer

With the fielders despatched to the far flung reaches of Lancaster Park, Astle eventually edged Hoggard to Foster and the fun was over.

It seems extraordinary that only four days ago, England were nought for two after the first five deliveries of the match.

The pitch was behaving like a nest of vipers and a low-scoring, bowler-dominated game seemed inevitable.

Caddick clamed six wickets for England

How things suddenly changed as 433 runs were scored by England on the third day, and a further 423 were added by New Zealand today: a total of 856 runs in 173 overs at a rate of five an over.

Andy Caddick set England on their way by taking the first three wickets to fall, but they came at a cost as Mark Butcher cracked a thumb while taking a snappy slip catch to dismiss Vincent for a duck.

He is optimistic about playing in the second Test at Wellington, but that is only five days away.

After Mark Richardson's enterprising 76, Fleming was neatly taken by Foster off Flintoff and although Astle was beginning to warm up, McMillan, Parore and Vettori soon followed.

When Butler was ninth out, giving Caddick his sixth wicket, some England players thought the game was over, but Cairns defied the knee injury that will prevent him from appearing in the rest of the series in a determined effort to support Astle, and thank goodness he did.

Their partnership of 118 was scored in only 55 minutes and although England deserved their victory, it will be Astle's unforgettable batting that will be toasted in the bars of Christchurch.