Cricket: Dumped Astle gets the last laugh

Brendon McCullum (left) congratulates Chris Cairns on his 200th ODI wicket. Picture / Simon Baker

Nathan Astle played an innings of redemption last night as New Zealand beat Sri Lanka by five wickets at Jade Stadium, in the process taking an unassailable 3-0 series lead.

Sacked at the start of the series and only reinstated because of Stephen Fleming's paternity leave, New Zealand's most successful one-day batsman finally climbed out of the mire on his home ground, posting an unbeaten 90 - his first half-century in four months or eight innings.

Restricted to 255 after promising much more earlier in their innings, Sri Lanka were unable to prevent New Zealand from building a solid launching pad in the first half of the chase, and then forging to the target with two overs remaining.

Lou Vincent and Jamie How put on 59 for the opening wicket, Peter Fulton chimed in with a handy 32, and Astle steered the home side through a dangerous late-innings squeeze, surviving two dismissals along the way, thanks to no-ball calls.

The under-fire right-hander was caught off a Dilhara Fernando no-ball when on 72 in the 46th over, and two overs later had his poles rearranged by an over-stepping Chaminda Vaas while on 77, prompting him to strike the next delivery for a gigantic six.

His success yesterday is set to cause a conundrum for John Bracewell and his fellow selectors, given that Hamish Marshall fell cheaply once again yesterday afternoon, and Fleming is expected back on deck for Friday's fourth match in Wellington.

Marshall has hardly scored a run since last season but was desperately unlucky to be adjudged lbw to Muttiah Muralitharan when television replays suggested the delivery had initially glanced off the right-hander's glove.

Bracewell now has to decide whether to cut Marshall or to drop Astle once more, despite the fact the 34 year-old has scored 15 ODI centuries, has a strike-rate of 72.91, and posted 90 in his last outing.

Hellbent on winning his place back in the team, at least before next year's World Cup campaign, Astle showed great composure in dealing with his demons, bringing up his half-century off a sedate 76 balls, while finding the boundary on five occasions.

His was an uncharacteristically cautious effort, involving nudges and deflections off the slow bowlers, periods of patience against the seamers, and very little of his trademark carving through the offside or explosive hitting down the ground.

Astle initially combined with Fulton to put on 72 for the fourth wicket, and then with the in-form Scott Styris to add 49 for the fifth, carrying New Zealand from the slightly vulnerable position of 170 for four in the 35th to relative comfort down the stretch.

Even when Styris left, expertly caught by Dilshan off Farveez Maharoof in the 44th over, Astle still had the the wherewithal to ensure there would be no late concerns, teaming up with Canterbury team-mate Chris Cairns to see New Zealand through.

The result would have been a great disappointment for the tourists, who appeared on target to post a formidable total after a magnificent innings from 20-year-old left-hander Upal Tharanga, who raised his second ODI century off 118 balls before eventually falling for 103 in the 38th over.

At that stage, Sri Lanka were 169 for four and seemingly set to push to 280 and beyond, but began decelerating through the latter stages as Shane Bond and Kyle Mills returned to punch holes in their resistance.

New Zealand veteran all-rounder Chris Cairns continued to struggle at the bowling crease, but at least managed to snare his 200th ODI victim, Dilshan, well caught in the deep by a diving Jacob Oram.

ONE-DAY INTERNATIONAL (Christchurch)

SRI LANKA
U. Tharanga c Fulton b Oram 103
A. Gunawardene c Marshall b Bond 3
K. Sangakkara run out (Bond) 36
M. Jayawardene c McCullum b Mills 6
M. Atapattu run out (Astle) 52
T. Dilshan c Oram b Cairns 10
F. Maharoof b Mills 7
R. Arnold not out 21
C. Vaas not out 1
Extras (3lb, 3nb, 10w) 16
Total (for 7 wkts, 50 overs) 255

NEW ZEALAND
L.Vincent c Sangakkara b Maharoof 46
J. How c Mubarak b Vaas 12
N. Astle not out 90
P. Fulton c Jayawardene b Dilshan 32
H. Marshall lbw Muralitharan 12
S. Styris c Dilshan b Maharoof 28
C. Cairns not out 10
Extras (1b, 14lb, 8nb, 3w) 26
Total (for 5 wkts, 48 overs) 256

Result: New Zealand win by 5 wickets, and lead series 3-0

Next games:
Wellington, Friday
Napier, Sunday.