Astle ends red-ball career to focus on limited-overs cricket

New Zealand leg-spinner Todd Astle has called time on his red-ball career in order to focus more on limited-overs cricket. The 33-year-old, who played the last of his five Tests against Australia earlier this year, regarded the longest format to be the absolute pinnacle, but said he was unable to maintain the commitment required any longer.

"Playing Test cricket was always the dream and I'm so honoured to have represented my country and province in the longest form of the game," Astle said. "Red-ball cricket is the pinnacle, but also requires a huge amount of time and effort.

"As I've got to the back end of my career I've found it harder to maintain the level of commitment required to be fully invested in this version of the game."

Astle made his first-class debut in 2005, playing predominantly as an opening batsman in the early part of his career at Canterbury before turning his attention to leg-spin. Across 119 first-class matches, Astle ended up scoring over 4000 runs and took 334 wickets at an average of 32.17. He even finished as Canterbury's highest-ever wicket-taker with his tally of 303.

"I'm really proud of what I've been able to achieve with Canterbury and the Black Caps. To have the opportunity to play a Test against Australia at the SCG was an experience I'll always cherish," Astle said. "I'm excited to now focus all my energy into the white-ball formats, as well as give more time to my young family and new business."

New Zealand selector Gavin Larsen paid tribute to Astle's red-ball career while supporting his decision: "Todd's been an absolute stalwart for Canterbury in the Plunket Shield and his first-class record speaks for itself. To prepare and play four-day cricket at such a level for the best part of 15 seasons is a credit to him and his perseverance. His ability to turn the ball both ways and build pressure always made him a threat with the red-ball in hand. We appreciate this would have been a tough call for Todd and we absolutely support his proactive decision."

With Astle unavailable, it'll be interesting to see if New Zealand recall left-arm spinner Ajaz Patel for the series against India, after Mitchell Santner had a poor tour of Australia.