New Zealand take complete control
Famine turned to feast for New Zealand on Wednesday as Nathan Astle and Craig McMillan piled on the runs against Zimbabwe on the second day of their one-off cricket Test at the Basin Reserve in Wellington.
Astle and McMillan were in sublime form, first quashing any chances of an early Zimbabwean breakthrough and then constructing a partnership of 222, demoralising the tourists in a record-breaking day.
It also raised the prospects of New Zealand needing one bat on a track that could favour their two-pronged spin attack.
New Zealand ended the day on 475 for six, with Adam Parore on 44 and Brooke Walker on 21.
It is New Zealand's highest Test innings total against Zimbabwe, beating the 461 scored at Bulawayo in 1997-98.
The New Zealand camp would decide on Thursday whether to bat on.
While northerly winds buffeted the Basin for much of the day, it was McMillan and Astle who blew apart Zimbabwe's hopes of running through the home side cheaply after New Zealand resumed at 190 for four.
After a pedestrian opening day on Tuesday, the Canterbury team-mates, both under pressure to retain their places, crafted significant centuries.
McMillan equalled his previous highest Test score of 142, against Sri Lanka at Colombo in 1997-98, while Astle went one better recording a new highest Test score of 141.
Astle eclipsed his previous best of 125 with a patient knock that is bound to find its way into the longevity chapter of the cricket almanac.
He laboured 460 minutes before he delightedly raised his bat to the appreciative crowd of around 2000, and batted for over 9-1/2 hours in all before he was finally dismissed late in the day.
His sixth Test century was the fourth slowest by a New Zealand batsman, consuming 341 balls.
While McMillan relatively raced to his fourth Test ton after a quiet start to his innings on Tuesday afternoon, Astle was content to occupy the crease and showed no signs of anxiety despite spending more than eight overs on 88 while McMillan scored 24 uninterrupted runs.
He then spent 30 balls in the 90s before cutting Bryan Strang through point for the precious single that brought up his century.
McMillan started the day 34 runs behind his partner, overtook him in the 70s and then motored away, bludgeoning the tiring Zimbabwean attack to all parts of the ground.
He signalled his intentions early, taking 16 off Strang's second over of the morning.
Astle and McMillan added 89 in the two hours to lunch, a meteoric acceleration compared with Tuesday's average of 60 runs a session, and maintained the momentum as they piloted the innings through the 200, 300 and 350-run marks.
"We wanted to be a little more aggressive today and look to push on and build a big total," McMillan said.
"It's always satisfying to score a hundred, it's good to prove a few people wrong. It was a special hundred and it was satisfying to play like that with Nath (Astle)," said McMillan referring to suggestions the pair were not worthy of their place in the side.
McMillan's wicket was scant reward for Murphy who toiled honestly in difficult conditions.
After bowling 24 overs for just 55 runs Tuesday he, along with the other Zimbabwean bowlers, endured a success-starved day in the field.
At the end of the day he had figures of 44-8-122-1, Strang had two for 110 off 44 overs and Henry Olonga also went for more than 100 without reward.
Murphy should have claimed McMillan when the batsman was on 107 but wicketkeeper Andy Flower couldn't hold the chance.
McMillan gleefully celebrated his let-off by straight driving Murphy's next two balls to the boundary.
While McMillan showed the full array of shots, Astle was particularly effective on the drive and cut. His was a chanceless knock and just the tonic required after a poor tour of South Africa where he averaged just 15 in the three-Test series.
His nine hour, 41-minute vigil included 16 boundaries and two sixes from 408 balls.
With wicketkeeper Adam Parore, Astle added 59 for the sixth wicket before Stuart Carlisle ended his marathon innings with a smart catch in the gully off Strang.
Mail Cricket Editor
