Nathan John Astle MNZM (born 15 September 1971) is a former New Zealand cricketer, who played all formats of the game.

A right-handed batsman who played as an opener in One Day Internationals (ODI), while batting in the middle order in Test matches.

Astle has played County Cricket in England for Derbyshire, Durham and Nottinghamshire, and for Canterbury in New Zealand.

[2] His sister, Lisa Astle, represented the New Zealand women's team at the 1993 World Cup, and later married another first-class cricketer, Robbie Frew.

He was a part of the Mumbai Champs team in the inaugural 20/20 Tournament of the now defunct Indian Cricket League (ICL).

[11] It was under the insistence of Glenn Turner, then coach of New Zealand, Astle was selected for the Test side and started playing as an opener in ODIs.

[15] Following that, Astle was named in the New Zealand squad for the 1996 Cricket World Cup that was held in India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.

[16] Following his dismal performance at the World Cup, Astle was selected for the two match Test series in West Indies.

[18] He continued his good form with the bat as he scored 103 in the second Test, enabling New Zealand draw the match, although they lost the series 1–0.

His partnership with Morrison helped New Zealand secure a draw and prevented England from winning the test match.

[20] Astle was New Zealand's top run scorer in the 1997 Pepsi Independence Cup, a quadrangular tournament that also included India, Sri Lanka and Pakistan.

[23] Astle also passed Martin Crowe's record number of one-day hundreds for New Zealand (four) during the tournament.

Astle made a remarkable comeback to the 2003 World Cup after disastrous performances in the previous two editions that appeared.

The following year Astle went on to record his highest ODI score when he made 145 not out against USA at the ICC Champions Trophy 2004.

By this time, his Test average dipped down; he went on to make only two more hundreds till the end of his career, including one against Zimbabwe.

While expected to make his fourth World Cup appearance, Astle announced his retirement from international cricket, while he was playing in the Commonwealth Bank Series, on 26 January 2007.

I so desperately wanted to go to my fourth World Cup, but deep down inside I knew that I was lacking motivation and the enjoyment levels were just not there."

[34] Because of this multi-utility option he always enjoyed selection in the team but his laid-back attitude resulted him never been considered for the captaincy, despite his seniority.

Astle also took up Auto racing in early 2010, competing predominantly at Woodford Glen Speedway, Christchurch, driving a Modified Sprint.

Astle moved to full-sized Sprintcars after two seasons in a Modified Sprint, and has since competed in numerous speedway events across New Zealand.

In the 2007 Queen's Birthday Honours, Astle was appointed a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit, for services to cricket.

[42] In 2009, Astle announced his intentions to make a career of coaching, and was appointed the head coach role of the Burnside West Christchurch University Cricket Club, a senior club in the Christchurch Metropolitan league, playing under the Canterbury Cricket Association.