ROSEMARY ABBOTT | Sport
THAT SOUND OFF THE BAT
Damian Harris, 35, has once again paused all meaningful activity around his home to rewatch the full-length highlights of Nathan Astle’s famous 222 against England back in 2002.
“Honestly, you don’t hear cracks off the bat like that anymore,” Harris proclaimed, eyes glued to his phone as Astle effortlessly smashed yet another delivery out of Jade Stadium.
The father of two had been doing regular Saturday chores, but inevitably found himself riding each ball of Astle’s innings on YouTube like it was the first time he’d seen it.
“I mean, look at that shot – he wasn’t even trying! Look at Andrew Caddick’s face,” Harris smirked as he watched Caddick’s reaction to getting hit for yet another six into the stands.
Astle’s historic innings came in an era where even hitting a six was a feat in a test match, let alone hitting 11 of them in one innings. As of today, Astle’s double hundred is still the fastest 200 in a test match.
“Astle was way before his time. Could you imagine if T20 was a thing back in 2002?”
More to come.
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