He represented New Zealand in all three forms of the game, but was unable to keep a consistent place in the team in any format because of regular injury problems and competition with other spin bowlers.
[3][4] Astle began his cricket career as an opening batsman, but over time morphed into an all-rounder with his leg spin bowling.
He finished the cup as the third-highest run-scorer, only behind future Test cricketers Cheteshwar Pujara from India and Eoin Morgan from Ireland.
[6] Astle made his debut for state side Cantebury in the first-class Plunket Shield in December 2005,[7] and for the next four years played primarily as an opening batsman.
[6] In October 2019, during the Plunket Shield match against Wellington, Astle became the first bowler for Canterbury to take 300 first-class wickets.
[19] This performance and a successful 2015–16 Ford Trophy put him back into the selection frame for the national team, and in January 2016 he was named in New Zealand's squad for a series of Twenty20 Internationals against Pakistan.
[24] His selection received praise from Pakistan's coach, Mickey Arthur, who said that Astle was an "interesting choice" and an "attacking spinner".
[30] In October 2017, Astle was named in New Zealand's One Day International (ODI) squad for their series against India, giving him a chance to make his ODI debut,[22][31] but during a warm-up match against the Indian Presidents XI he tore his groin just three deliveries into his bowling spell.
[32][33] Astle returned home, and once fit again he played his 100th first-class match for Canterbury[30] and was able to re-join the New Zealand ODI squad against the West Indies.
He was initially only expected to miss the first ODI against Pakistan,[43] but he was later ruled out of the tour altogether and forced to return home early.
[44] Astle recovered from his injury and returned to first-class cricket in New Zealand, where in February 2019, during the 2018–19 Plunket Shield season, he became the leading wicket-taker for Canterbury, going past Mark Priest's total of 290 dismissals.
[45][46] Astle returned to New Zealand's national team in February for their home ODI and Test series against Bangladesh.