In his last tournament, Astle took 11 wickets in as many games in the Super Smash at an excellent economy rate of 6.70. With Matt Henry on the sidelines and Henry Shipley and Ish Sodhi away with the New Zealand side in India, Astle led Canterbury’s attack, but they ended up losing their third successive Super Smash final. Astle picked up 1 for 30 in his four overs in the final in Christchurch, where everything began for him back in 2005, when Gary Stead, the current New Zealand head coach, was still playing for Canterbury.
