Nathan Astle
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Nathan John Astle (born 15 September 1971) is a former
New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...
cricket Cricket is a Bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball game played between two Sports team, teams of eleven players on a cricket field, field, at the centre of which is a cricket pitch, pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two Bail (cr ...
er, who played all formats of the game. A right-handed batsman who played as an opener in
One Day International One Day International (ODI) is a format of cricket, played between two teams with international status, in which each team faces a fixed number of fifty overs, with the game lasting up to 7 hours. The World Cup, generally held every four yea ...
s (ODI), while batting in the middle order in
Test matches Test match in some sports refers to a sporting contest between national representative teams and may refer to: * Test cricket * Indoor cricket, Test match (indoor cricket) * Test match (rugby union) * Test match (rugby league) * Test match (associa ...
. In a career that spanned 12 years, Astle played 81 Tests and 223 ODIs accumulating 4,702 and 7,090 runs respectively. As of 2022, he is New Zealand's fourth-most prolific run scorer. Astle collected 154 wickets with his medium-paced bowling at the international level. He holds two records – scoring the fastest double century in Test cricket and the second highest individual score in the fourth innings of a Test match. Both the records were achieved when he made 222 against
England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...
in
Christchurch Christchurch (; ) is the largest city in the South Island and the List of cities in New Zealand, second-largest city by urban area population in New Zealand. Christchurch has an urban population of , and a metropolitan population of over hal ...
in 2002. Astle was a member of the New Zealand team that won the
2000 ICC KnockOut Trophy The 2000 ICC KnockOut Trophy was the second edition of the One Day International cricket tournament. Later renamed as ''ICC Champions Trophy'', it was held in Kenya (which helped to increase the popularity of cricket in Kenya). New Zealand were c ...
. His innings of 145 not out was the highest individual score by a batsman in the
ICC Champions Trophy The ICC Champions Trophy, formerly known as the ICC Knock Out Trophy, is an international One Day International (ODI) cricket tournament organised by the International Cricket Council (ICC) contested by international men's teams. Inaugurat ...
, which he scored in the 2004 tournament until it was broken by Ben Duckett in 2025 against Australia when he scored 165. Astle has played County Cricket in England for
Derbyshire Derbyshire ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. It borders Greater Manchester, West Yorkshire, and South Yorkshire to the north, Nottinghamshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south-east, Staffordshire to the south a ...
, Durham and
Nottinghamshire Nottinghamshire (; abbreviated ''Notts.'') is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. The county is bordered by South Yorkshire to the north-west, Lincolnshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south, and Derbyshire to the west. Th ...
, and for
Canterbury Canterbury (, ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, in the county of Kent, England; it was a county borough until 1974. It lies on the River Stour, Kent, River Stour. The city has a mild oceanic climat ...
in New Zealand. He was also a footballer who represented Rangers A.F.C. and good at
auto racing Auto racing (also known as car racing, motor racing, or automobile racing) is a motorsport involving the racing of automobiles for competition. In North America, the term is commonly used to describe all forms of automobile sport including non ...
.


Personal life

Astle was born in
Christchurch Christchurch (; ) is the largest city in the South Island and the List of cities in New Zealand, second-largest city by urban area population in New Zealand. Christchurch has an urban population of , and a metropolitan population of over hal ...
, New Zealand, where he is still based; he is married to Kelly Astle and has two children. Astle and his wife Kelly run a childcare centre for which he is the director. His sister, Lisa Astle, represented the New Zealand women's team at the 1993 World Cup, and later married another first-class cricketer, Robbie Frew.


Domestic career

Born in 1971 at Christchurch, Astle joined the East Christchurch-Shirley Cricket Club, a cricket club that would produce cricketers like Bruce Taylor, Craig McMillan and Michael Papps. He used to bat at number 6, and played as a batsman who could bowl medium pace. During the 1990–91 season, Astle was selected to play for "New Zealand Young Cricketers" against "England Young Cricketers". Astle managed just 127 runs at an
average In colloquial, ordinary language, an average is a single number or value that best represents a set of data. The type of average taken as most typically representative of a list of numbers is the arithmetic mean the sum of the numbers divided by ...
of 31.75 in the three match series. The following year, Astle made his First-class debut for
Canterbury Canterbury (, ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, in the county of Kent, England; it was a county borough until 1974. It lies on the River Stour, Kent, River Stour. The city has a mild oceanic climat ...
against Central Districts. He hardly managed to score runs at the end of the first three seasons. During the 1994–95 season he aggregated 663 runs at an average of 55.25. He played three important innings during the season – 96 against
Auckland Auckland ( ; ) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. It has an urban population of about It is located in the greater Auckland Region, the area governed by Auckland Council, which includes outlying rural areas and ...
, 175 against Northern Districts and 191 against
Wellington Wellington is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the third-largest city in New Zealand (second largest in the North Island ...
. Following impressive performances in the season, he was noticed by the New Zealand selectors. On 31 May 2006,
Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated ''Lancs'') is a ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Cumbria to the north, North Yorkshire and West Yorkshire to the east, Greater Manchester and Merseyside to the south, and the Irish Sea to ...
announced that Astle would be a short-term overseas replacement for Australian player Brad Hodge. In 2007 he played for Longton C.C in
Staffordshire Staffordshire (; postal abbreviation ''Staffs''.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England. It borders Cheshire to the north-west, Derbyshire and Leicestershire to the east, ...
. He was a part of the Mumbai Champs team in the inaugural 20/20 Tournament of the now defunct
Indian Cricket League The Indian Cricket League (ICL) was a short-lived cricket league that ran from 2007 to 2009. It was sponsored by Zee Entertainment Enterprises, a media company. The ICL had two seasons, featuring four international teams and nine domestic teams ...
(ICL).


International career


Debut years

Astle was selected for the ODI series against
West Indies The West Indies is an island subregion of the Americas, surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea, which comprises 13 independent island country, island countries and 19 dependent territory, dependencies in thr ...
in 1995. He was again selected for the series against
Sri Lanka Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, also known historically as Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, separated from the Indian subcontinent, ...
where's he scored 95 in one of the matches thus enabling New Zealand level the series and ending their losing streak after 13 matches. It was under the insistence of
Glenn Turner Glenn Maitland Turner (born 26 May 1947) played cricket for New Zealand and was one of the country's most prolific batsmen. He played domestically for Otago for most of his career and played in England for Worcestershire County Cricket Club ...
, then coach of New Zealand, Astle was selected for the Test side and started playing as an opener in ODIs. He was again selected for a five match ODI series in India. In the first four matches, he failed to score, but in the final match he recorded his first ODI century scoring 114 off 128 balls. New Zealand won the match and Astle was declared "
man of the match In team sport, a player of the match award (also known as man of the match or woman of the match) is often given to the most outstanding player in a particular match. This can be a player from either team, although the player is generally chose ...
", in spite of New Zealand losing the series 3–2. The following year Astle made his Test debut against
Zimbabwe file:Zimbabwe, relief map.jpg, upright=1.22, Zimbabwe, relief map Zimbabwe, officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Bots ...
at Trust Bank Park,
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. In the ODI series, Astle scored a century in the first match and was named "man of the match". All in all, he scored 168 runs in the series averaging 56.00. Following that, Astle was named in the New Zealand squad for the
1996 Cricket World Cup The 1996 Cricket World Cup, also called the Wills World Cup 1996 for sponsorship reasons, was the sixth Cricket World Cup organised by the International Cricket Council (ICC). It was co-hosted by India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. The tournament wa ...
that was held in India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. He scored his first World Cup hundred in new Zealand's opening match, against England, of the tournament. However, Astle failed to score runs in the rest of the tournament, eventually ended up with 111 runs at an average of 18.5. Following his dismal performance at the World Cup, Astle was selected for the two match Test series in West Indies. This was his second series after the one against Zimbabwe at home. Until then, he managed just 77 runs in four innings at an average of 19.25, In the first Test at
Kensington Oval The Kensington Oval is a stadium located in the western part of Bridgetown, Barbados. It is the pre-eminent sporting facility on the island and is primarily used for cricket. It has hosted many important cricket games between local, regional, ...
, he scored 54 (48 balls) and 125 in both innings of the Test. In the second innings he was involved in a partnership of 144 runs with
Justin Vaughan Justin Thomas Caldwell Vaughan (born 30 August 1967) is a New Zealand cricket administrator and former cricketer who played six Test matches and 18 One Day Internationals between 1992 and 1997. He is a doctor of medicine by profession. Life ...
for the fifth wicket, a record for New Zealand then. In spite of his performance in the match, New Zealand lost the match by ten wickets. He continued his good form with the bat as he scored 103 in the second Test, enabling New Zealand draw the match, although they lost the series 1–0. In the following year, Astle scored 106 against England in the 1st Test of the three–match series. He was involved in a partnership of 106 for the tenth wicket with Danny Morrison, a New Zealand record. His partnership with Morrison helped New Zealand secure a draw and prevented England from winning the test match.


Successful opener in ODIs

Astle was New Zealand's top run scorer in the 1997 Pepsi Independence Cup, a quadrangular tournament that also included India, Sri Lanka and Pakistan. In the first match against Pakistan, he scored 117 and took a career-best
figure Figure may refer to: General *A shape, drawing, depiction, or geometric configuration *Figure (wood), wood appearance *Figure (music), distinguished from musical motif * Noise figure, in telecommunication * Dance figure, an elementary dance patt ...
of four wickets for 43 runs; New Zealand won the match by 22 runs while Astle was named Man of the match. He followed that with 92 against India, a match which New Zealand lost. Although, New Zealand did not progress to the finals, Astle ended up as the fourth-most prolific run scorer with 218 runs at an average of 72.66. He was equally successful with the ball as he captured seven wickets at an
average In colloquial, ordinary language, an average is a single number or value that best represents a set of data. The type of average taken as most typically representative of a list of numbers is the arithmetic mean the sum of the numbers divided by ...
of 15.00. Astle also passed
Martin Crowe Martin David Crowe (22 September 1962 – 3 March 2016) was a New Zealand cricketer, Test and ODI captain as well as a commentator. He played for the New Zealand national cricket team between 1982 and 1995, and is regarded as one of the count ...
's record number of one-day hundreds for New Zealand (four) during the tournament. Astle's success as opener in ODIs continued throughout the season. In a home series against Zimbabwe, he was more consistent, scoring 351 runs including a century. He made scores exceeding 60 in four consecutive matches and was ultimately named "man of the series". Astle performed well in the subsequent series' such as the Singer-Akai Nidahas Trophy (1998) and the home series against
South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...
accumulating close to 600 runs.


1999 World Cup failure

Although, Astle was consistent till 1999, he failed in the
1999 Cricket World Cup The 1999 ICC Cricket World Cup, also branded as England '99, was the seventh edition of the Cricket World Cup, organised by the International Cricket Council (ICC). It was hosted primarily by England, with selected matches also played in Wales, ...
that took place in England. He managed just 79 runs in nine matches at an average of 8.77. he scored well in the Test series against England including a century. At the end of the century, Astle established himself as one of the key players in New Zealand. At the end of 2000, New Zealand suffered heavy losses in the Test series against South Africa. Astle made a strong comeback in the ODI series against Pakistan, scoring 240 runs. In the final match of the series, he made 119 off 116 balls that contained 21 fours. During the innings he was involved in a record stand of 193 for the first wicket with captain
Stephen Fleming Stephen Paul Fleming (born 1 April 1973) is a cricket coach and former captain of the New Zealand national cricket team. He was a left-handed Batting order (cricket), opening batter and an occasional right arm slow medium bowler. He is New Zea ...
. It helped New Zealand win the series. In the rain-affected 2001–02 Trans-Tasman Trophy against Australia, Astle scored moderately in the first two Tests and came back with a valiant 156
not out In cricket, a batsman is not out if they come out to bat in an innings and have not been dismissed by the end of an innings. The batsman is also ''not out'' while their innings is still in progress. Occurrence At least one batter is not out at ...
in the third Test. Though New Zealand had their upper hand throughout the series, it ended in a draw. In the tour he made a career best First-class score of 223 against
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. Following that, England visited New Zealand to play five ODIs and three Test matches. In the ODI series, he fared well scoring 221 runs in five innings at an average of 73.66 including a century in the last match. In the first Test, chasing a target of 550 runs, Astle batted at number five went on to make 222, his highest Test score. he set the record for the fastest double-century when he reached the landmark in 153 balls. He took 168 balls hitting 28 fours and 11 sixes before being the last man to be dismissed. During the innings he was involved in a partnership of 118 runs with injured
Chris Cairns Christopher Lance Cairns (born 13 June 1970) is a former New Zealand cricketer and former ODI captain, who played for the New Zealand cricket team as an all-rounder. Cairns finished his Test career with a batting average of 33.53 and a bowling ...
. Despite this New Zealand lost the match by 98 runs. As of 2013, it remains the second highest score by a player in the fourth innings of a Test match.


2003 World Cup and return

Astle made a remarkable comeback to the 2003 World Cup after disastrous performances in the previous two editions that appeared. He scored a century, second in World Cups, against Zimbabwe and finished the tournament with 213 runs from seven matches at an average of 42.60. Immediately following the World Cup, New Zealand toured India to play two Test matches. In the first Test at
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, Astle scored 103, when New Zealand were struggling thus helping them save the match. The following year Astle went on to record his highest ODI score when he made 145 not out against
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at the ICC Champions Trophy 2004. By this time, his Test average dipped down; he went on to make only two more hundreds till the end of his career, including one against Zimbabwe. However, he continued his good form in ODIs. In August 2005, he made an unbeaten 115 against India at the final of the Videocon Tri-Series that was held in Zimbabwe. New Zealand won the tournament and Astle was adjudged "player of the match". During the 2005 Chappell–Hadlee Series and the preceding tour to
South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...
, Astle incurred media criticism along with fellow
New Zealand cricket team The New Zealand national cricket team represents New Zealand in men's international cricket. Nicknamed the Black Caps (), they played their first Test in 1930 against England in Christchurch, becoming the fifth country to play Test cricket. ...
teammates Craig McMillan, Hamish Marshall and James Marshall, for a slump in form. As a result of this, he was dropped from the national team. However he returned to the side in 2006 for the home series against West Indies. He scored 118 not out at Christchurch, and ended up as New Zealand's leading run scorer of the tournament. Over the New Zealand summer, he scored 690 ODI runs from 11 matches at an average of 54.2. He received the "2005–2006 Walter Hadlee Trophy for Best New Zealand One-Day International batsman".


Retirement

While expected to make his fourth World Cup appearance, Astle announced his retirement from international cricket, while he was playing in the Commonwealth Bank Series, on 26 January 2007. He cited lack of motivation and his "patchy form" in the recent matches as reasons for retiring. He played his last One-Day International on 23 January 2007 against England at the
Adelaide Oval The Adelaide Oval is a stadium in Adelaide in the state of South Australia. It is located in the Adelaide Parklands, parklands. The venue is predominantly used for cricket and Australian rules football, but has also played host to rugby league, ...
.


Playing style and influences

Astle has been described as the best ODI batsman New Zealand has ever produced. Apart from his role as a batsman, he was also an occasional partnership-breaking medium pace bowler and a competent slip fielder. Because of this multi-utility option he always enjoyed selection in the team but his laid-back attitude resulted him never been considered for the captaincy, despite his seniority.


Outside cricket

Astle has also been a competent soccer player, playing for Rangers A.F.C. in Christchurch, a club which also at one time had fellow cricketer
Sir Richard Hadlee Sir Richard John Hadlee (born 3 July 1951) is a New Zealand former cricketer. Hadlee is widely regarded as one of the greatest all-rounders in cricket history, and amongst the very finest fast bowlers. Hadlee was appointed an Order of the Bri ...
among its players. Astle also took up Auto racing in early 2010, competing predominantly at Woodford Glen Speedway, Christchurch, driving a Modified Sprint. Astle moved to full-sized Sprintcars after two seasons in a Modified Sprint, and has since competed in numerous speedway events across New Zealand.


Honours and awards

The ''New Zealand Cricket Almanack'' named him the "Player of the Year" on three occasions – 1995, 1996 and 2002. For his efforts, Astle received the "Player of the Year" award in 1998. He was also named New Zealand's "One-Day International Batsman of the Year" in 2006. In the 2007 Queen's Birthday Honours, Astle was appointed a
Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit The New Zealand Order of Merit () is an order of merit in the New Zealand royal honours system. It was established by royal warrant on 30 May 1996 by Elizabeth II, Queen of New Zealand, "for those persons who in any field of endeavour, have ...
, for services to cricket.


Records

* During his career, Astle scored 16 ODI centuries. As of the end of 2019, this is the equal second highest for a New Zealander, and equal 21st overall. * Most
ducks Duck is the common name for numerous species of waterfowl in the family (biology), family Anatidae. Ducks are generally smaller and shorter-necked than swans and goose, geese, which are members of the same family. Divided among several subfam ...
(getting out without scoring) in
World Cups A world cup is a global sporting competition in which the participant entities – usually international teams or individuals representing their countries – compete for the title of world champion. The event most associated with the name is ...
, with five. *Fastest double century in test cricket.


Coaching career

In 2009, Astle announced his intentions to make a career of coaching, and was appointed the head coach role of the Burnside West Christchurch University Cricket Club, a senior club in the Christchurch Metropolitan league, playing under the Canterbury Cricket Association.


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Astle, Nathan 1971 births Living people Canterbury cricketers Durham cricketers New Zealand One Day International cricketers New Zealand Test cricketers New Zealand Twenty20 International cricketers New Zealand cricketers Nottinghamshire cricketers New Zealand expatriate cricketers in England Lancashire cricketers Cricketers at the 1998 Commonwealth Games Commonwealth Games bronze medallists for New Zealand ICL World XI cricketers Mumbai Champs cricketers Cricketers from Christchurch Members of the New Zealand Order of Merit People educated at Shirley Boys' High School Commonwealth Games bronze medallists in cricket South Island cricketers Medallists at the 1998 Commonwealth Games