Cricket: Repaired Astle eyes return as all-rounder

By RICHARD BOOCK


Nathan Astle has his eyes firmly fixed on his batting form these days, but is not ruling out a return to the bowling crease in the not-too-distant future.

New Zealand's leading batsman in one-day internationals with 13 centuries, Astle was thought to be lost to the bowling crease after undergoing surgery on both knees last summer, and has not bowled an official delivery at ODI level since last year's World Cup.

At the moment, his bowling prospects remain a low priority, particularly after he missed out on a meaningful score in yesterday's warm-up match against Sri Lanka, following similar misadventures in the previous two games in Somerset.

But he will still begin tonight's Champions Trophy opener against the United States with some strong recent form, following his back-to-back half centuries in the last two games of New Zealand's triumphant NatWest campaign in July.

A late confirmation for that England tour after his second bout of surgery, the 32-year-old had missed the previous 27 ODIs, and had to look back to the 2000-01 VB series for the last time he'd been regularly employed as an all-rounder.

After the second operation, the feeling was that Astle would stick to his initial plan of not bowling again in order to preserve his troublesome knees, and to increase his longevity in the game as a specialist batsman.

But coach John Bracewell let the cat out of the bag this week when discussing his senior opener, suggesting there was a chance that Astle would make a return with the ball if his rate of progress continued to impress.

And Astle confirmed the possibility after yesterday's loss to Sri Lanka, saying he would love to play a future role with the ball again if his fitness allowed.

"I'd love to bowl again. I'm always keen to be involved, and if everything was in order fitness-wise there's no question that I'd leap back into it," he said.

"I've tested my knee out in the nets a bit lately, I've given it some gentle work and I'd have to say that it's probably feeling better and more stable than it has for a long, long time."

Astle is best known for his belligerence with the bat and the fact that New Zealand invariably win when he manages to make a sizeable contribution, and he also holds the record for the world's fastest test double-century (in balls faced).

But his ability to shore up the middle of the innings with the ball, often combining with spin-bowler Daniel Vettori to exploit tiring pitch surfaces, was invaluable for the New Zealand ODI side, particularly in places such as the subcontinent.

For someone of such moderate pace, Astle was a dangerously direct medium-pacer, and could often make the ball reverse back in to the batsman if the conditions were ideal.

His most recent stint at the bowling crease was in New Zealand's ill-fated World Cup match against Australia last March, when he bowled one over in a losing effort against Australia at Port Elizabeth, leaving him with 95 ODI wickets, at an economy rate of 4.64.

"I've maybe got three or four years left in me and certainly I'd hope to get back to bowling in that time. There was a stage when I thought I'd probably have to give it [bowling] away, but I'm far more optimistic now - and that's mainly because of how my knees are feeling."

Bracewell said earlier in the week that he considered Astle a bowling prospect in the short-to-middle term, but would be keen to ensure his return as an allrounder was not rushed or ill-conceived.

"As a bowler, Nathan's been on the shelf for the past 18 months and he's still on the shelf in terms of this tournament," he said.

"But I can certainly see a time - maybe not too far off, when he could consider getting back into that without jeopardising his overall availability.

"There's no doubt that he can be a useful operator in an ODI environment. It's always good to be able to call on some of your top-order batsmen to bowl a few overs, and it's also helpful in terms of the balance of the side selected."

Astle said he had no doubt that New Zealand could overcome the powerful Australian side in the virtual quarter-final clash next Thursday and open up the entire tournament for an upset.

"We've beaten Australia before and we can do it again - it's just a matter of putting in a good, strong performance on the day."

Astle's numbers

4/43 - Nathan Astle's best bowling in an ODI, against Pakistan 1997

95 - wickets in ODIs

179 - ODIs played

5697 - runs in ODIs

122* - high score, against England, 2001/02