When I've failed in the past I've got out in the first 10 minutes so I haven't had time to find out if I was playing well or badly. It helped to bat with Thorpey who helped keep me going." The altruism looked to be the other way around, at least at the start of their stand. Thorpe may have the highest average among current England batsmen, but he should not have reached double figures, let alone a double-hundred, after Nathan Astle dropped him second ball at second slip off Chris Drum. With another close call on 14, when he was almost run out by Craig McMillan after dawdling out of his crease, there is little doubt that it was Flintoff's bravura that drew him from his cocoon.England had lost three wickets in inglorious circumstances when Flintoff strode to the crease.

Given his timid offerings this winter ­ his last six Test innings read 0, 0, 4, 0, 4, 18 ­ the most even optimistic onlookers were expecting was a quick twenty. He did that before anyone had time to blink, least of all Butler, who obligingly played him in by bowling it full enough to meet the swing of his bat.But something stirred in big "Freddie" and, instead of breathing a huge sigh of relief and then getting out, he sustained his assault without slogging, sending the Barmy Army into an orgy of appreciation. Indeed, once Thorpe raised his tempo to match him boundary for boundary, New Zealand's second-stringers came in for a fearful pasting which only slowed, and then briefly, when Flintoff was dismissed after miscuing a heave off Astle. Indeed, with England declaring on 463 for 6 off 96.4 overs, the bowling figures were more in need of treatment than Cairns' knee.With the stage now set for a solo scene, Thorpe plundered on to third place in the pantheon of brisk double-hundreds.

In top spot is the remarkable Adam Gilchrist, who managed the feat off 212 balls against South Africa at the Wanderers a fortnight ago. Second is Thorpe's old friend Ian Botham, who, at The Oval in 1982, flayed Kapil Dev and Dilip Doshi to get there in 220 balls. Nipping at their heels is no disgrace and Thorpe will no doubt celebrate with Botham when the opportunity allows. He deserves a knees-up too, for the left-hander has endured the break-up of his marriage as well as his bones. Having left the India tour just before the Second Test, a move that resulted in him separating from his wife, he has once again begun to devote to cricket the time it needs.

Hopefully for England supporters and his team-mates, the scintillating innings here will have restored his faith in the occupation that has busied him since he was a teenager."It's great to make runs for the team, though it was very satisfying on a personal note as well," said Thorpe. "It's been a tough time for me, but I've had bags of support from the team and management. I got a hundred each for both of my children."In the past, Thorpe had a reputation for making well-crafted 70s without never going on to the big score, though this has changed of late. Like Hussain, who hit a century in the first innings, this was his 10th three-figure score (in his 130th Test innings), though that fact alone did not even begin to tell the story.