Nathan Astle Retired

[Natman20]

It is not confirmed yet but it sounds like their will be a press conference today where Astle will confirm retirement from international cricket.

Thought this deserved its own thread.

 

[Richard]

What, immidiately? Or after the World Cup?

If after the World Cup it's only to be expected, but immidiately... sheesh.

 

[Dick Rockett]

It's not without precedent - Damien Martyn recently did more or less the same thing.

If it is Astle, I'll miss him. Not so much the out of form one we see on our tellys now, but the one that's scored 16 ODI centuries, and the fastest double hundred in tests.

So many great memories

 

[gunner]

hes not that old though

 

[Bahnz]

If he does go it will be a big blow for New Zealand's World Cup chances, and will leave a massive hole that will be nearly impossible to fill. Astle has been the Bulwark of New Zealand's batting since Martin Crowe retired more than a decade ago. He's scored more ODI hundreds then all of New Zealand's other batsmen combined, and has been the pillar around which countless succesful run chases have been built.

A sad day for the Black Caps

 

[Fiery]

If he does go it will be a big blow for New Zealand's World Cup chances, and will leave a massive hole that will be nearly impossible to fill. Astle has been the Bulwark of New Zealand's batting since Martin Crowe retired more than a decade ago. He's scored more ODI hundreds then all of New Zealand's other batsmen combined, and has been the pillar around which countless succesful run chases have been built.
A sad day for the Black Caps

Bulwark: Now there's a word you don't hear everyday. Nice work Bahnz

 

[James]

A huge blow ahead of the World Cup, he'll be missed in a big way.

Nathan Astle's page on Stats Spider

 

[Smudge]

And he's gone - just arrived in my inbox:

Media Release
26 January 2007

Nathan Astle retires from international cricket

Nathan Astle, one of the finest cricketers ever to play for New Zealand, has faced his last ball wearing the black cap.

Today in Perth he announced his retirement from the international stage, bringing to an end a 13-year career with the BLACKCAPS.

"I have been fighting this day for about eight months. I so desperately wanted to go to my fourth World Cup, but deep down inside I knew that I was lacking motivation and the enjoyment levels were just not there.

"Probably the first indications were last year when I was having a good run and not really enjoying the success that I was having. But because I wanted to go to the World Cup I probably fudged over these feelings, which was fine until about a month ago when it really started to hit home that this was no longer the place for me.

"Enjoyment has always been a huge factor for why I play the game and when that faltered I knew it was time to move on.

"Once I had made the decision that I would not be going to the World Cup, for the sake of the team, I needed to go as soon as possible to make way for another player. I don't believe it would have been fair on my team mates to hold on."

Astle played 81 tests and 223 one-day internationals for the BLACKCAPS scoring 4702 test runs (11 centuries) at an average of 37.02 and 7090 one-day runs (16 centuries) at an average of 34.92. While there have been plenty of highlights, the two that stand out for Astle are the tour to England in 1999 and the 222 he scored against England at Jade Stadium in 2002. He is undecided about his provincial commitments.

"There will be some who will want to jump to different conclusions about why I am retiring at this time. I want to state that this team and management group is a great, tight-knit group and while it is well documented that I had some issues with the selectors last season, we sorted them out a long time ago. I will really miss the friendship and camaraderie of the team group," Astle said.

BLACKCAPS captain Stephen Fleming said that the team was losing one of the finest batsmen ever to play for New Zealand. "I have played with him for a long time, going back to our Canterbury and then New Zealand stays. Nath was a very uncomplicated, naturally aggressive player who was just great to watch. He was also a great sounding board for me as a captain because of his calmness and consistency. He will be missed."

Coach John Bracewell was equally complimentary. "Statistically his record puts him into the position of greatness but probably the greatest loss will be his stability and influence inside the team. Over the last few years Nathan has become a great mentor for the younger players, and sometimes the not-so-young. He is so well respected by both players and management alike because his contributions are well thought out, mature and come on the back of his experience and for these reasons he will always be remembered as a great player and a great team player."

Lou Vincent will join the team in Perth today.

 

[marc71178]

Have to say its a noble thing to do this close to the World Cup - certainly a New Zealand great.

 

[Smudge]

Safe to say he's our best ever ODI batsmen. When Astle fired, generally, so did NZ.

 

[James]

He's one of our best, but Martin Crowe is way out in front as our No 1 ODI batsman of all time IMO.

 

[Speersy]

Good to see players are retiring because they just dont have the motivation they used to.

Goodluck to him in the future

 

[Natman20]

Astle was a player who dominated once he got going and could sometimes play the cut shot to perfection which was also a large weakness in his batting arsenal. He will be remembered as a player who has made a major impact in the results of New Zealands cricket squad for the last 12 years. His form came and went all the time but always managed to impress throughout his career. A sad loss and highly unexpected but at least he admits that his lack of passion could have been a negative impact on the New Zealand squad and fair enough as well. It will be hard to find a batsman that could constantly perform his role well. My most memorable memory of him was taking a spectacular catch standing out at the boundary against the West Indies if I remember correctly. Goodbye Naths

Vincent comes into the side with a List A average of 39.00 this season after 7 games building form with recent 50s and a 100 after a poor start to the domestic season.

 

[Smudge]

He's one of our best, but Martin Crowe is way out in front as our No 1 ODI batsman of all time IMO.

If you base his whole career on the 1992 World Cup, then yes...



Anyway, wrong thread for this. I'll stop.

 

[Sir Redman]

He's one of our best, but Martin Crowe is way out in front as our No 1 ODI batsman of all time IMO.

Glenn Turner?

Anyway, I'm really quite sad to see him go. He's always been one of my favourite players, someone who could stick it to any team on his day, and even though he's been out of form his retirement leaves a big hole at the top of the order. Sad that he's stuck on 99 ODI wickets as well, would have been nice to get to 100.

Feels a bit like the end of an era for me. For as long as I can remember Astle has been in the NZ team, and it feels strange to not have him available now. He scored a century in the first game I ever went to (vs Zimbabwe in 95/96), and from then on was always a favourite of mine.

 

[_Ed_]

Safe to say he's our best ever ODI batsmen. When Astle fired, generally, so did NZ.

Indeed, it was a ridiculous statistic...Astle made 16 centuries and I think we won about 14 of those matches.

Great player, not only in terms of his run-scoring ability but also great to watch.

Hope he enjoys his retirement, a bit of a sad way to go out with scores of 1 and 0 though. I was hoping he'd give warning and play one last spectacular innings, but not to be.

 

[NZTailender]

From the other thread:

Sad to see him go. He was one of my favourite players to watch. You never really thought too much of him in the test side - he was jsut always there. Quiet and unassuming. In ODI's he would get us off to a quick start and his playing style was well suited to the quicker format by scoring the most centuries by any NZ player in the coloured uniform.
His handy medium pacers broke partnerships in tests and tied down batsmen in one dayers. His fielding was electric, right up until recently. That catch against the West indies will go down as one of the most freakish catches in history.

But you also got the slight feeling of underachievement with Astle. I guess you get that with most New Zealand players. A test average of under 40 from 80 test matches won't be remembered as being top level, but he did the job required in the middle order.

His 222 will obviously remain the highlight of a fantastic career, and there are quite a few memorable innings to choose from, but my personal favourite would be his unbeaten 150 against Australia in 01/02. Thank you Nathan, for the memories and service

 

[James]

What a fantastic player to watch he was, one of those players who when on form was one of the best in the world. Some truly amazing innings he played.

His bowling as well as his batting will be missed I'd say. Especially with the slow wickets in the West Indies for the WC.

 

[_Ed_]

Yeah he'll sit on 99 ODI wickets forever now.

 

[Beleg]

I liked watching Astle. Whoever said it's an end of an era for NZ is correct - of the old guard, I think only Fleming and Vettori are left. Remember coming back from school in anticipation of the first game of the 1996 WC, turning on the T.V to see that Astle had scored a century.

He will be missed.