Nathan Astle (New Zealand) off 159 balls: When Astle, left, came to the crease for the first Test against England at Christchurch in 2002, New Zealand were 298 runs shy of victory.
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Speaking on his performance, the 24-year-old all-rounder said that although it was a dream innings for him, he added that he might not be able to repeat this again in his entire life, Sport24 reported.
England lead 1-0 in the four test series after a 241-run victory in Durban last week.
He was eventually run out after sharing a Test record sixth-wicket stand of 399 with Jonny Bairstow – who made his maiden Test century – and England declared soon after.
Chasing the massive first innings total, South Africa had a nightmare start when opener Stiaan van Zyl pushed the ball into the off side and was run out for four by Nick Compton’s accurate throw.
“I just tried to hit as many boundaries as I could because it was too hot to run”, he joked.
De Villiers and Amla have put together a partnership of 114 runs, the first century partnership for South Africa in their last nine tests stretching back more than a year.
Stokes’ score was the highest by a number six batsman in Tests. Only Jacques Kallis and Graeme Smith have scored more Test runs for South Africa than his 8,038.
“We always knew that we had to pick up wickets quickly and when the second new ball came we thought it was our chance”.
All four of South Africa’s frontline bowlers shipped in excess of a hundred runs as Stokes (258) and Bairstow (150no) shared a handful of batting records at Newlands.
Those who witnessed the pair’s monstrous hitting power will remember it for a long time but England have turned their focus to bowling out the Proteas, who resume 488 behind on 141 for two.
AB De Villiers and captain Hashim Amla then rebuilt the innings – despite the former being dropped by Joe Root at slip while on five – but they will still have a huge task to avoid the follow on following Stokes’ heroics.
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“But to lose just one wicket today is a huge win for us and hopefully a turning point”. On the other hand, de Villiers looked scratchy but missed out on a century when he was caught by James Anderson off Steven Finn for 88 at midwicket. “There was a lot of talk here and there so I’m delighted to get over the line today”, he said.
