Club player smashes 258 not-out in 40 overs
In an extraordinary exhibition of hitting, Jason Aekins of New Zealand club side Taita smashed an unbeaten 258 - a one-day club batting record - in a 40-over match in Wellington on November 21
Cricinfo staff
22-Nov-2005
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Aekin, 35, was playing against Upper Hutt in the domestic 1B grade level, and hit 16 sixes and 30 fours as Taita amassed 489 for 4 at Tremtham Memorial Park No. 4. "It's all a bit of a blur but it wasn't very good bowling," Aekins said to stuff.co.nz. "Once I got to 100 every ball was going to the boundary - I was on fire. It just kept coming out of the middle." Batting with an old bat, Aekins shared a second-wicket partnership of 263 with Josh Smits (159). "My opening partner got out in the first over and Josh came in and by drinks (20 overs) he had 150 and I was on 96. When he went out I let loose," Aekins said.
Aekins, a carpenter by profession, is a regular in the Taita 1B team, playing alongside some of his former Eastbourne rugby mates. His domestic record is impressive; this was the ninth instance in three seasons of Aekins recording a hundred, and he comfortably surpassed his previous best of 171 set last summer. "I was hoping for 200 this year, I've been trying for 12 seasons," a beaming Aekins added. "We had a couple of beers back at the club on Saturday night but most of the other teams were playing away so there weren't many people there. There is talk of something this weekend."
Aekins' feat has earned him a gesture of recognition from local statisticians - a special cap - after he became the only batsman at the Wellington senior level to cross 250. Interestingly, the identity of Upper Hutt's bowling attack is somewhat anonymous. An example of this is a bowler recorded simply as Mike, with figures of 1 for 79 off four overs. In the end, Upper Hutt were dismissed for 158, losing by 331 runs.