Cricket: Astle joins heavyweights with his 15th ODI ton

Nathan Astle yesterday joined a master class of international batsmen with his 15th ODI ton. Picture / Reuters

Nathan Astle was moving in the company of the stars yesterday after his latest heroics in the Tri-Series final against India.

The man who steered New Zealand home at Harare with an unbeaten 115 at the same time managed to join a master class of international batsmen - those to have scored 15 or more one-day international centuries.

He now rubs shoulders with some of the undisputed heavyweights of the game, a top 10 led by India's Sachin Tendulkar and Sourav Ganguly.

Undoubtedly New Zealand's greatest ODI batsmen, Astle's century-making exploits are starting to tower over those of team-mates Stephen Fleming (6) and Chris Cairns (4), and former captain Martin Crowe (4).

His contribution at Harare yesterday was all care and calculated risk-taking, a case of expertly anchoring his team's run-chase, posting his century off 121 balls along the way, and ensuring the target of 277 was eclipsed with 11 balls to spare.

The innings was significant for several reasons, not least for reinforcing Astle's usefulness at a time when World Cup places are starting to be contested. At 33 and with twin knee operations behind him, Astle was one of a clutch of New Zealanders hoping to use the Zimbabwe experience as an opportunity to prove his fitness and form for the short-term future.

He can now reflect on a job well done.

New Zealand had some anxious moments in the field before eventually dismissing India for 276, but Astle's commitment to the cause ensured a happy ending.

Not only did the win allow his team to leapfrog Pakistan and move back into third place on the ICC rankings (albeit by a decimal point), it also repaired a lot of the damage inflicted by Australia last summer, and continued a proud record in recent ODI tournaments.

New Zealand's first major title was only secured at Nairobi in 2000, when they beat India in the ICC Knockout Trophy final amid much celebration, relief and the counting of US dollars. They then knocked over Pakistan in the 2003 Tri-Series final in Sri Lanka, and proved it was no fluke last year in England when they beat the West Indies in the NatWest showpiece at Lord's.

Meanwhile, the New Zealanders began their long-haul flight home yesterday against a backdrop of some interesting Tri-Series statistics, dominated by the batting of Astle, Fleming, Lou Vincent, Brendon McCullum and Scott Styris, and the bowling of Shane Bond and Daniel Vettori.

However, just as interesting to the selectors would have been Jacob Oram's struggle for form, Chris Cairns' battle with fitness, and the fact that Hamish Marshall averaged just 6.75.