WELLINGTON • Australian batting hero Adam Voges revelled in his luck yesterday after a record-breaking 239 against New Zealand following an umpiring blunder in the first cricket Test.
But he admitted the hosts had a right to "feel aggrieved" because he should have been out for seven.
"To have that bit of luck and then capitalise on the second opportunity, I'm happy," he said after his marathon innings steered Australia to 562 and a lead of 379.
At stumps on day three, New Zealand were 178-4 in their second innings, needing a further 201 to make their rivals bat again.
"It has been a great day to get to 200 and getting us into a great position is a very satisfying feeling," the 36-year-old said.
Late on the first day, he was bowled by Doug Bracewell without playing a shot. The umpire called no ball, although he knew he was fortunate after seeing television footage showing it was a legitimate delivery.
"I thought I was out," Voges said. "You're not leaving it if you hear a no ball called, I would have thought. It was a bad leave and I turned around and looked at the stumps, went to walk off and saw the (umpire's) arm out.
"Yeah, little bit of luck."
He resumed the third day on 176 and added a further 63 before his 504 minutes in the middle ended when he was caught and bowled by Mark Craig.
He had scored 614 runs since his previous dismissal, in the pink-ball Test against New Zealand at Adelaide in November, easily bettering the record of 497 runs between dismissals set by India's Sachin Tendulkar in 2004.
It also left Voges' Test average at 97.46 from 19 innings, after being ahead of Don Bradman's all-time record of 99.94 before his wicket fell. His double century - coupled with Usman Khawaja's 140 - also ensured a record first-innings lead for Australia in an innings where six of his team-mates failed to reach double figures.
Mitchell Marsh ruined New Zealand's hopes for a Brendon McCullum salvage mission. The usually big-hitting captain, with his 10 coming off 31 deliveries, was looking to dig in for a long stay before he was out with three balls left in the day.
AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
