Mark Butcher's hand injurywill be assessed before a decision as to whether a replacement will be sought for the rest of England's Test tour of New Zealand, said Nasser Hussain today.

Butcher injured his hand while catching Lou Vincent in England's eventful 98-run victory over New Zealand in the first Test. Butcher ran off for treatment and was replaced in the field by 12th man Craig White.

"He's got something in there and we are reviewing it over the next day," Hussain said. "He thinks he can pick up a bat and bat in the next Test, so we're giving it a little time, have a look how it feels when he bats in training. Then Duncan Fletcher, David Graveney and myself will discuss whether we need anyone to come out to New Zealand."

Hussain allayed fears that he may have damaged his fingers after dropping Stephen Fleming at first slip on Saturday. "I went to catch it and I drilled my fingers into the ground and it's swollen up around the joint area," he said of his right hand.

"It's not anything to worry about for the next game, it's just sore and I have no movement in the joint today. "I don't feel it's broken and I should know it, so...."

The cricket world was coming up for air on Sunday reflecting on an extraordinary opening Test match, which Nathan Astle almost stole with the fastest double-century in Test history. Astle's astonishing hitting took him to 200 off 153 balls, with the second century coming off just 39 deliveries.

Astle's performance smashed the previous record of 200 off 212 balls set by Australian Adam Gilchrist against South Africa in Johannesburg last month. The home-town hero ripped into the England bowlers, particularly Matthew Hoggard, with some of the lustiest hitting seen at the Christchurch ground - or anywhere else for that matter.

England's players jumped with glee when Astle's pyrotechnics came to end as he flashed at a wide Hoggard delivery and was gloved by James Foster for 222. Astle was at the crease for 231 belligerent minutes and struck 28 fours and 11 sixes off 168 balls. Such was the power of his bazooka-hitting that two balls were lost when he smashed them out of the ground.

While Astle was blasting away an unthinkable victory was still a possibility as he and the crocked Chris Cairns (23 not out) added 118 runs in 55 minutes for the last wicket. Cairns batted at No.11 because of knee ligament damage, which has ruled him out of the remaining Tests in Wellington and Auckland.

In a memorable match on an excellent drop-in pitch at Jade Stadium, 1,294 runs were scored and 36 wickets taken in four day's play. Hussain said his team was far from complacent about clinching the series in the second Test, starting in Wellington on Thursday. "We don't need reminders," he said. "This game you've never got it sussed, if things had gone for them in this game and certain catches been held ... there's nothing between these two sides. If we don't keep to our disciplines and keep working then we'll come unstuck. That's the sort of side we are, we have to practise and play at our best, we played pretty well in this game and we were still going in there with them looking the winners."

"In the last year or two we have played pretty much to our best, and we have beaten sides, but if fall below any of that then we'll come unstuck, New Zealand are a very determined lot."

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