Todd Astle
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Todd Duncan Astle (born 24 September 1986) is a former New Zealand
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 for the
New Zealand national 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 cricket, Test in 1930 against England cricket team, England in Christchurch, becoming the f ...
. Astle began his cricket career as an opening batsman, representing New Zealand in the
2006 Under-19 Cricket World Cup The 2006 ICC Under-19 Cricket World Cup was played in Sri Lanka from 2 to 15 February 2006. It was the sixth edition of the Under-19 Cricket World Cup. The final was played between Pakistan and India in Colombo, which Pakistan won by 38 runs, e ...
, but over time playing
first-class cricket First-class cricket, along with List A cricket and Twenty20 cricket, is one of the highest-standard forms of cricket. A first-class match is of three or more days scheduled duration between two sides of eleven players each and is officially adju ...
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 ...
, he morphed into a bowling all-rounder. He made his
Test cricket Test cricket is a Forms of cricket, format of the sport of cricket, considered the game’s most prestigious and traditional form. Often referred to as the "ultimate test" of a cricketer's skill, endurance, and temperament, it is a format of i ...
debut for New Zealand in 2012 in Sri Lanka, but did not play another international match until 2015. He represented New Zealand in all three forms of the game, but was unable to keep a consistent place in the team in any format because of regular injury problems and competition with other spin bowlers. In January 2020, Astle retired from first-class cricket to focus on
limited-overs cricket Limited overs cricket, also known as white ball cricket, is a version of the sport of cricket in which a match is generally completed within one day. There are a number of formats, including List A cricket (8-hour games), Twenty20 cricket (3-h ...
. In February 2023 he retired from all forms of professional cricket.


Early life and career

Astle was born in
Palmerston North Palmerston North (; , colloquially known as Palmerston or Palmy) is a city in the North Island of New Zealand and the seat of the Manawatū-Whanganui region. Located in the eastern Manawatū Plains, the city is near the north bank of the Manaw ...
in
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 ...
in 1986, the son of first-class cricketer
Alec Astle Alec Morrison Astle (born 5 August 1949) is a former New Zealand cricketer, schoolteacher and cricket administrator. Life and career Astle was born in Feilding. He is the father of Todd Astle. He played two first-class matches for the Central ...
, who played three top-level cricket matches for
Central Districts The Central Stags, formerly known as Central Districts, are a first-class cricket team based in central New Zealand. They are the men's representative side of the Central Districts Cricket Association. They compete in the Plunket Shield firs ...
in the 1970s. Astle began his cricket career as an
opening batsman In cricket, the batting order is the sequence in which batters play through their team's innings, there always being two batters taking part at any one time. All eleven players in a team are required to bat if the innings is completed (i.e., if ...
, but over time morphed into an
all-rounder An all-rounder is a cricketer who regularly performs well at both batting and bowling. Although all bowlers must bat and quite a handful of batsmen do bowl occasionally, most players are skilled in only one of the two disciplines and are cons ...
with his
leg spin Leg spin is a type of spin bowling in cricket. A bowler who uses this technique is called a leg spinner. Leg spinners bowl with their right-arm and a wrist spin action. The leg spinner's normal delivery is called a leg break, which spins fr ...
bowling. Astle opened the batting for the New Zealand under-19s in the
2006 Under-19 Cricket World Cup The 2006 ICC Under-19 Cricket World Cup was played in Sri Lanka from 2 to 15 February 2006. It was the sixth edition of the Under-19 Cricket World Cup. The final was played between Pakistan and India in Colombo, which Pakistan won by 38 runs, e ...
and did not bowl a ball. He finished the cup as the third-highest run-scorer, only behind future Test cricketers
Cheteshwar Pujara Cheteshwar Arvind Pujara (born 25 January 1988) is an Indian cricketer who represented the Indian national team for over thirteen years. Pujara currently plays for Saurashtra in Indian domestic cricket and for Sussex Cricket club in English ...
from India and
Eoin Morgan Eoin Joseph Gerard Morgan (born 10 September 1986) is an Irish-born English former cricketer and current commentator. He captained the England cricket team in limited overs cricket from 2015 until his international retirement in June 2022. He ...
from Ireland. Astle made his debut for state side Cantebury in the first-class
Plunket Shield New Zealand has had a domestic first-class cricket championship since the 1906–07 season. Since the 2009–10 season it has been known by its original name of the Plunket Shield. History The Plunket Shield competition was instigated in Octo ...
in December 2005, and for the next four years played primarily as an opening batsman. Astle was an overseas professional for
Aberdeenshire C.C. Aberdeenshire CC is the largest cricket club based in Aberdeen, Scotland. Their ground, Mannofield Park, is located in the Mannofield area of Aberdeen, and was granted One Day International (ODI) status for the first time in 2008. The club has a ...
for the 2008 and 2009 seasons, starring with bat and ball. The club had a historic season in 2009, winning the SNCL Premier League and the Scottish Cup. Astle failed to make his mark for Canterbury as a batsman and wasn't able to stay in the team consistently. The turning point of his career came in March 2010. He wasn't even selected to play for Canterbury in a Plunket Shield match against
Otago Otago (, ; ) is a regions of New Zealand, region of New Zealand located in the southern half of the South Island and administered by the Otago Regional Council. It has an area of approximately , making it the country's second largest local go ...
, but when Canterbury fast bowler
Chris Martin Christopher Anthony John Martin (born 2 March 1977) is an English singer, songwriter, musician and producer. He is best known as the vocalist, pianist and co-founder of the rock band Coldplay. Born in Exeter, Martin went to University Colleg ...
was called up to the national team he had to leave the match after two days and Astle was brought into the team to replace him. In the final innings, Astle took his first
five-wicket haul In cricket, a five-wicket haul (also known as a "five–for" or "fifer") occurs when a bowler takes five or more wickets in a single innings. This is regarded by critics as a notable achievement, equivalent to a century from a batter. Takin ...
in a first-class match to help Canterbury win the match by 158 runs. In the following 2010–11 season, Astle took 37 wickets at an average of 29.08, both becoming Canterbury's best bowler and winning the championship. He followed this up with another strong season in 2011–12, taking a further 31 wickets. In October 2019, during the Plunket Shield match 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 ...
, Astle became the first bowler for Canterbury to take 300 first-class wickets. In June 2020, he was offered a contract by Canterbury ahead of the 2020–21 domestic cricket season.


International career


Test debut

Astle was first included in the
New Zealand national 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 cricket, Test in 1930 against England cricket team, England in Christchurch, becoming the f ...
's squad in 2012 when he was named as New Zealand's second spinner for their tour of Sri Lanka in 2012. He made his
Test Test(s), testing, or TEST may refer to: * Test (assessment), an educational assessment intended to measure the respondents' knowledge or other abilities Arts and entertainment * ''Test'' (2013 film), an American film * ''Test'' (2014 film) ...
debut for the Blackcaps 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, ...
on 25 November 2012. He scored 35 runs in the second innings in a key partnership with Ross Taylor of 107. He took his first wicket also in the second innings by removing
Prasanna Jayawardene Hewasandatchige Asiri Prasanna Wishvanath Jayawardene ( Sinhala: හේවාසන්දච්චිගේ ආසිරි ප්‍රසන්න විශ්වනාත් ජයවර්ධන) (born 10 September 1979), commonl ...
. Rather than this debut being the start of a long career for Astle, he didn't play another Test for years and was just one of a number of spinners to go through the New Zealand Test team during an injury to
Daniel Vettori Daniel Luca Vettori (born 27 January 1979) is a New Zealand cricket coach and former cricketer who played for the New Zealand national cricket team. He was the 200th player to win their Test cricket cap for New Zealand and an inductee in the Ne ...
.


Return to international cricket

For the next three years, Astle did not return to New Zealand's national team in any form of the game. In 2015 he was selected to play for New Zealand A, and in a first-class match against Sri Lanka A took just the second
ten-wicket haul In cricket, a ten-wicket haul occurs when a bowler takes ten wickets in either a single innings or across both innings of a two-innings match. The phrase ten wickets in a match is also used. Taking ten wickets in a match at Lord's earns the bowle ...
of his first-class career. He took four wickets in the first innings and seven wickets in the second innings to finish with eleven for the match. This performance and a successful
2015–16 Ford Trophy The 2015–16 Ford Trophy was the 45th season of the official List A cricket tournament in New Zealand, and the fifth in a sponsorship deal between New Zealand Cricket and Ford Motor Company. The competition ran from 27 December 2015 to 30 Janu ...
put him back into the selection frame for the national team, and in January 2016 he was named in New Zealand's squad for a series of
Twenty20 International Twenty20 International (T20I) is a form of Twenty20 cricket, in which each team plays a single innings with a maximum of twenty overs. The matches are played between international teams recognized by the International Cricket Council (ICC). ...
s against Pakistan. He made his Twenty20 International debut on 15 January 2016, and played in the first two matches of the three-match series. He didn't take any wickets and conceded 41 runs from 4 overs across the two matches, so ahead of the final match he was released from the national squad and returned to playing for Canterbury. Astle became one of the best players in New Zealand's domestic cricket competitions, both in limited overs cricket and in the Plunket Shield, which gave him opportunities to play more international cricket matches for New Zealand. He returned to the national squad in the 2016–17 summer to replace the injured
Mitchell Santner Mitchell Josef Santner (born 5 February 1992) is a New Zealand international cricketer and current captain of New Zealand Cricket team in limited overs cricket. Domestically, he plays for Northern Districts cricket team. He is a bowling all-rou ...
. He was the only specialist spin bowler named to play in a two-Test series against Pakistan. His selection received praise from Pakistan's coach,
Mickey Arthur John Michael Arthur (born 17 May 1968) is a South African-Australian cricket coach, commentator and former cricketer, who played in South African domestic cricket from 1986 to 2001. He has served as the head coach of the Derbyshire County Crick ...
, who said that Astle was an "interesting choice" and an "attacking spinner". Astle played in the first Test of the series, the second of his career, but didn't score any runs and only bowled four overs. He was then included in New Zealand's squad for the 2016–17 Chappell-Hadlee Trophy, but he did not play a game in the series.


2017–2019, Injury woes

Astle was part of a New Zealand A squad for a tour of India in 2017, and he was the team's best bowler. In a one-day match against
India A The India A cricket team is a national cricket team representing second-tier cricket of India national cricket team. The matches played by India A receive first-class and List A classification. It is a developmental team, domestic players who ar ...
, he took bowling figures of 4/22, which former Indian Test batsman
Rahul Dravid Rahul Dravid (; born 11 January 1973) is a former cricket player, ex-captain and ex-coach of the Indian national cricket team. Known for his outstanding batting technique, Dravid scored 24,177 runs in international cricket and is widely re ...
called one of the best leg spin spells he'd seen in Indian conditions. In October 2017, Astle was named in New Zealand's
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 ...
(ODI) squad for their series against India, giving him a chance to make his ODI debut, but during a warm-up match against the Indian Presidents XI he tore his groin just three deliveries into his bowling spell. He was ruled out due to his injury and pulled from the squad. Astle returned home, and once fit again he played his 100th first-class match for Canterbury and was able to re-join the New Zealand ODI squad against the West Indies. He finally made his ODI debut for New Zealand on 20 December 2017. His first ODI series was a successful one: on debut he took 3 wickets for 33, using his wrong 'un well and rarely bowling a poor ball, then in the 2nd ODI he scored 49 runs as part of a 130-run partnership with Henry Nicholls, New Zealand's highest ever sixth-wicket partnership against the West Indies. In March 2018, he was named in New Zealand's Test squad for their series against England, replacing
Mitchell Santner Mitchell Josef Santner (born 5 February 1992) is a New Zealand international cricketer and current captain of New Zealand Cricket team in limited overs cricket. Domestically, he plays for Northern Districts cricket team. He is a bowling all-rou ...
, who was ruled out due to injury, and in a day-night Test match in Auckland he took three wickets in the second innings, leading New Zealand to victory. Unfortunately he also suffered a side strain during the match, denying him the chance to play in the next Test match at his home ground
Hagley Oval Hagley Oval is a Cricket field, cricket ground in Hagley Park, Christchurch, Hagley Park in the Christchurch Central City, central city of Christchurch, New Zealand. The first recorded match on the ground was in 1867, when Canterbury cricket te ...
. Regardless, his form in both ODIs and Test matches was enough to give him a contract for the 2018–19 season with
New Zealand Cricket New Zealand Cricket, formerly the New Zealand Cricket Council, is the governing body for professional cricket in New Zealand. Cricket is the most popular and highest profile summer sport in New Zealand. New Zealand Cricket operates the New ...
, his first central contract after 12 years of first-class cricket. Astle was one of three spinners, along with
Ajaz Patel Ajaz Yunus Patel (born 21 October 1988) is a New Zealand cricketer who plays for Central Districts in domestic cricket. He emigrated with his family from Mumbai when he was eight years old, and was formerly a left-arm seam bowler. Patel is a sl ...
and
Ish Sodhi Inderbir Singh "Ish" Sodhi (born 31 October 1992) is a New Zealand cricketer who represents the New Zealand national cricket team in all formats, and Canterbury in domestic cricket. He bowls right-arm leg spin, and bats right-handed. He reached t ...
, named in New Zealand's squad for a series against Pakistan, and ahead of the series he played tour matches in the United Arab Emirates for New Zealand A to prepare and fight for a spot in the team. After he played well for New Zealand A he took a few days off to recover from kneecap irritation. He was initially only expected to miss the first ODI against Pakistan, but he was later ruled out of the tour altogether and forced to return home early. Astle recovered from his injury and returned to first-class cricket in New Zealand, where in February 2019, during the
2018–19 Plunket Shield season The 2018–19 Plunket Shield was the 90th season of the Plunket Shield, the domestic first-class cricket competition in New Zealand. It took place between October 2018 and March 2019. Unlike the previous edition of the competition, the tourname ...
, he became the leading wicket-taker for Canterbury, going past
Mark Priest Mark Wellings Priest (born 12 August 1961) is a former New Zealand international cricketer who played in three Test matches and 18 One Day Internationals (ODIs) between 1990 and 1998. He was the leading wicket-taker for Canterbury, with 290 di ...
's total of 290 dismissals. Astle returned to New Zealand's national team in February for their home ODI and Test series against Bangladesh. Because of his strong form and Ish Sodhi's struggles, he appeared to be New Zealand's favoured second spinner for the
2019 Cricket World Cup The 2019 ICC Cricket World Cup was the 12th Cricket World Cup, a quadrennial One Day International (ODI) cricket tournament contested by men's national teams and organised by the International Cricket Council (ICC). The tournament was hosted bet ...
alongside Mitchell Santner, but when New Zealand announced their squad in April 2019 they selected Sodhi rather than Astle because Sodhi had more international experience. Following the World Cup, Astle was among four spin bowlers chosen to play for New Zealand in their Test series in Sri Lanka, where he'd made his Test debut seven years earlier.


2020 onwards

In November 2019, Astle was named in New Zealand's Test squad for their Test series against Australia. He played in the third Test of the series, taking 3 wickets overall in the match. Astle was named in New Zealand's T20I squad for their T20I series against Bangladesh. He only played in the third T20I and finished with his career best T20I figures of 4-13 which included the wickets of
Mohammad Naim Mohammad Naim Sheikh (born 22 August 1999) is a Bangladeshi cricketer. He made his international debut for the Bangladesh cricket team in November 2019. Domestic career Naim made his List A debut for Legends of Rupganj in the 2017–18 Dhaka ...
,
Najmul Hossain Shanto Najmul Hossain Shanto (; born 25 August 1998) is a Bangladeshi cricketer and current captain of the Men's national team for Test. He was also a former captain of Twenty20 Internationals and One Day International. He is the second Bangladeshi ...
,
Afif Hossain Afif Hossain Dhrubo (Bengali: আফিফ হোসেন ধ্রুব; born 22 September 1999) is a Bangladeshi cricketer. In February 2018, he was named in Bangladesh's Twenty20 International (T20I) squad for their series against Sri Lank ...
and
Mahedi Hasan Mahedi Hasan (born 12 December 1994) is a Bangladeshi cricketer who plays for Khulna Division and the Bangladesh cricket team. He made his international debut for Bangladesh in February 2018. Domestic career Mahedi made his Twenty20 (T20) debu ...
. In August 2021, Astle was named in New Zealand's squad for the
2021 ICC Men's T20 World Cup The 2021 ICC Men's T20 World Cup was the seventh edition of the Men's T20 World Cup, formerly known as the ICC World Twenty20, a Twenty20 cricket tournament that took place from 17 October to 14 November 2021. The tournament was hosted by Unit ...
, where he did not get a game. He was then selected for a T20 series against India, and returned with unimpressive figures of 0/34 in 3 overs in the first T20 at Jaipur.


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Astle, Todd 1986 births Living people Cricketers from Palmerston North Canterbury cricketers New Zealand cricketers New Zealand Test cricketers New Zealand One Day International cricketers New Zealand Twenty20 International cricketers