Former Carlisle cricket club professional Justin Greaves steered West Indies to a draw in New Zealand with a superb 202 not out.
Set a colossal target of 531, 113 more than the current record for a successful fourth-innings chase, the West Indies were 457-6 at the end, the second-highest Test fourth innings.
Greaves, and a stubborn support role by Kemar Roach, saw the West Indies salvage a valiant draw in the first Test against New Zealand in Christchurch.
Greaves battled for almost 10 hours and faced 388 deliveries, bringing up his maiden double century in the penultimate over.
Roach was unbeaten on his Test best of 58 which included facing 72 dot balls when he was on 53.
The pair put on a gutsy 180 for the seventh wicket.
“Kemar, the senior pro, guided me all the way,” said man-of-the-match Greaves.
“Our coach told me once you get in, stay in. To be a part of history is exciting, but for me, it’s one day at a time.
“For us, it was just about getting into the last session.”
Given the magnitude of the chase, the West Indies saw the draw as a win while New Zealand felt they had lost.
West Indian Justin Greaves, who played for Carlisle in the Cumbria League back in 2015, made his Test debut in Australia last year.
Greaves had made a big impression at Carlisle in 2015, scoring just shy of 1,000 runs and taking more than 50 wickets in the North Lancs and Cumbria League.
An outstanding all-rounder he actually scored 915 league runs at an average of 65.36 and took 55 league wickets at 11.76.
Captain at the time Marc Brown said: “He was a top order batter, a real threat with the ball and a great fielder.”
Carlisle brought him back to Edenside two years later when he hit 606 runs (average 67.33) and took 40 wickets (average 11.40).
Before he moved into senior cricket, Greaves played for West Indies at the 2012 Under-19 World Cup.
As well as playing in England with Carlisle, Greaves had also represented Sefton Park in the Liverpool and District League and also the Essex club Frinton-on-Sea.
He made his one-day international debut for the West Indies in 2022 against Ireland and has now made the transition to the full Test side.
