Cricket: Frontline role for the walking wounded

By RICHARD BOOCK in Johannesburg

The question this week is not whether New Zealand can get through to the Super Six round of the World Cup, but whether Nathan Astle can.

The hard-hitting right hander is battling a knee injury and a hernia, both of which will require surgery when he returns home at the end of the tournament.

New Zealand would have jumped at the chance to rest him for their last first-round game, against Canada.

But the logjam at the top of group B and the significance of run rates will probably mean he has to return for Monday's match at Benoni.

In any other World Cup it probably wouldn't have mattered much, as Astle's performance had been so poor that a forced change might have been a blessing in disguise.

But not this time, not in this situation.

Dismissed cheaply in the first match against Sri Lanka, when he ran himself out, Astle was tried at No 3 for the next two games.

He responded with match-influencing contributions, being sawn off for 46 by umpire Rudi Koertzen at Port Elizabeth, and sharing in a pivotal 140-run second-wicket stand with Stephen Fleming at the Wanderers.

He ended unbeaten on 54 in that match, confirming coach Denis Aberhart's belief that he was too valuable to be exposed to the new ball, and was more likely to play an effective hand if he was moved down to No 3 or 4.

Now that he has found some cup form, the problem is keeping him fit enough to make an impact when it matters most, something captain Stephen Fleming touched on this week as he pondered the team composition for Bangladesh and Canada.

"He's not great," Fleming said of Astle. "It's sort of like you've got a glass of water and you keep taking sips out of it every time he plays. So it comes down to measuring how often we can afford to use him, and whether we can afford not to use him for that matter.

"We didn't want to play him against Bangladesh because we feel he's only got X number of games left in him, but on the other hand - if you don't play him you risk missing out on the second round and being left with half a glass of water."

Astle is happy to leave the decisions to the trainers and physiotherapists, but has changed his view on the idea of playing in another World Cup after this one.

Before New Zealand's first game against Sri Lanka he was feeling positive about his long-term prospects, something that gradually changed as his knee and hernia problems took more of a hold.

"The knee's always been sore, but the hernia is starting to play up a bit now - that's probably been the more painful of the two. But we're at the World Cup and I'm just happy that I'm out here playing.

"I had two disappointing cup tournaments and this one is probably going to be my last, so it would be nice to go out on a high note."

Astle said there was a confidence in the New Zealand side that blossomed after the win against South Africa, and all squad members believed New Zealand could qualify for the Super Six with a strong performance against Canada.

His preference would be to go to the Super Six with the West Indies and South Africa, both of whom New Zealand beat in the first round.

Teams qualifying for the Super Six will carry through the points they won against fellow qualifiers and one point for each win against non-qualifiers, meaning New Zealand could get through with 10 points.

"If we could take 10 through and then win one of our three Super Six matches, we'd be on 14, and probably in line for a semifinal," Astle said.

World Cup schedule

Points table