Reuters
New Zealand's Nathan Astle dives to catch England's Monty Panesar during their one-day international at the Adelaide Oval earlier this week.

PERTH, Australia (CMC):

NEW ZEALAND batsman Nathan Astle announced yesterday he is quitting international cricket and will miss the Cricket World Cup (CWC) in the Caribbean, starting in March.

The 35-year-old right-hander made the surprise announcement at a press conference - citing a lack of motivation - just six weeks before what would have been his fourth World Cup.

"I have been fighting this day for about eight months," Astle said. "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," he added.

After playing 81 Tests and 223 one-day internationals, Astle decided to quit despite New Zealand's current involvement in the triangular series with Australia and England in Australia.

"Enjoyment has always been a huge factor for why I play the game and when that faltered I knew it was time to move on," he said.

He said he reached his decision after Tuesday's match against England in Adelaide and is undecided on whether to continue at first-class level.

Record runs

Astle scored 16 centuries in limited-overs internationals, a record for New Zealand, and 7,090 runs at an average of 34.92. Only current captain Stephen Fleming has scored more one-day runs for New Zealand.

He also made 4,702 runs in Tests, including 11 centuries, and took 99 wickets, but his finest achievement was an innings of 222 against England in Christchurch five years ago when his 153-ball double century became the fastest in history.

The New Zealand coach John Bracewell reacted with surprise to Astle's decision and said his departure is a huge loss to the side.

"Statistically, his record puts him into a position of greatness, but probably the greatest loss will be his stability and influence inside the team," Bracewell said.

Astle made his debut in 1995 against West Indies at home. Back-to-back hundreds on a tour of West Indies in his third and fourth Tests earned him a permanent place in the side and he peaked in 2002 with the fastest Test double-century.

He reached the milestone from only 153 balls against England at Christchurch and went on to finish with 222, his highest Test score.

New Zealand will play alongside Canada, Kenya and England in Group C of the CWC 2007 first round from March 14-24.