Nathan Astle © PhotoSport

Judging individual batting efforts by New Zealand, and world, batsmen will be changed forever as the dust settles on the amazing and remarkable double century scored by Nathan Astle on Jade Stadium yesterday.

His 222, which included the fastest double century by 59 balls, is the cricketing equivalent of Bob Beamon leaping out of the Olympic Games long jump pit in the rarefied atmosphere of Mexico City in 1968 - a record that made competition in the event almost irrelevant until passed in 1991.

There will be a similar untouchability about the record Astle established on his home town track in Christchurch.

The ground is not immune to world records, track star Peter Snell broke the world 800m and 880 yards world records there in the same race in 1962.

It has been witness to numerous rugby triumphs by the home town Canterbury side, their more recent professional brother, the Crusaders and, of course, the All Blacks.

But Astle's effort will always stand up well beside anything else sports fans may compare it with.

It was literally phenomenal.

That he scored his double century only three minutes slower than Don Bradman achieved en route to a world record Test highest score of 334, puts it in a little better perspective. It was in that region of greatness.

Among great New Zealand innings it clearly surpassed possibly its closest rival, the 173 scored by wicket-keeper Ian Smith in his one-man wrecking exhibition against the Indian attack at Eden Park in 1989/90.

It left the great gentlemen of the game, the late Martin Donnelly and the late Bert Sutcliffe, double century makers in their own right, in its wake. Donnelly, until yesterday, was the holder of the highest score by a New Zealander against England with his 206 at Lord's, while Sutcliffe scored 230 in India.

Neither batsman, and both were renowned for their ability to take an attack apart, would have begrudged Astle his honour yesterday.

Nor would another New Zealand double century maker Graham Dowling who set a New Zealand record when scoring his 239 against India in 1967/68.

Richard Hadlee played a great innings of dismemberment when tearing into the England attack in 1983/84 to score 99.

Chris Cairns, who shared the last-wicket stand of 118 runs with Astle, also played an innings of belligerent power at Eden Park against Zimbabwe when hitting nine sixes at Eden Park in 1995/96. His record for sixes in a Test innings by a New Zealander went west, or east, or north or south, as Astle hit 11 to end one short of the world record held by Pakistan's Wasim Akram.

There was also the first-class innings by Sutcliffe of 385 not out, the world record for a left-hander scored on the ground in a game for Otago against Canterbury in 1952/53, still the highest score by a batsman in New Zealand.

In effect, for an equivalent innings, although it wasn't played in a Test match, you probably have to go back to another legend of the game, for that is what Astle must be now, to Victor Trumper.

Trumper scored what was to be the last century of his career on what was then Lancaster Park when hitting 293 not out for Arthur Sims' Australian XI against Canterbury in 1913/14 while partnering Sims in a world record eighth wicket partnership of 433 runs.

It may be that long before an innings of equivalent stature is seen again, although the way Astle plays sometimes who knows?

© CricInfo