Former Sefton Park player Justin Greaves hits Test double hundred to earn West Indies unexpected draw

Justin Greaves played for Sefton Park CC in the Liverpool and District Cricket Competition in in 2013, scoring 109 and taking 4–32 on debut against Old Xaverians and finishing with 742 runs at 67.45 and 31 wickets at 15.00 in 18 league games as Sefton convincingly won the second division.

But his achievements as a teenager at Croxteth Drive pale into insignificance when compared with what Justin achieved recently In New Zealand where he produced a nine-and-a-half-hour batting masterclass as his maiden Test double hundred secured an unlikely draw for West Indies against the Black Caps.

The 31-year-old's unbeaten 202 was the bedrock of West Indies' 457-6, the second-highest fourth-innings total in Test match history, in pursuit of an improbable victory target of 531 at Christchurch's Hagley Oval.

Facing 388 balls, Justin achieved his maiden double-century and across his incredible batting performance against New Zealand, for which he was named Player of the Match, he also delivered a 196-run partnership, with Shai Hope, and a 180*-run partnership with Kemar Roach across 10 hours of play.

The West Indies also recorded the highest fourth-innings total in five-day Test cricket history, while Justin became just the seventh player in Test cricket to record a double-century in the fourth innings of a match.

Justin becomes the third former Sefton Park player to hit a Test century and the first to hit a double century. Brendan Taylor, who was Sefton Park's overseas player in 2006, scored his first Test century (100 not out) as Zimbabwe's captain in a match against Bangladesh in Harare, in April 2013, to become the first former Sefton player to hit a Test century. In January 2019, Justin's compatriot Shane Dowrich, who was Sefton's overseas professional in 2012, scored 116 not out in the first test against England at Kensington Oval, Bridgetown, Barbados.