Shell-shocked Kiwis prepare for life after Astle

Sydney, Jan 27 (UNI) Nathan Astle's sudden retirement has left the New Zealand team shell-shocked and the players are battling to come to terms with the loss of one of the most prolific scorers for the Black Caps.

When the Kiwis were informed about Astle's decision yesterday the reactions ranged from shock to disbelief.

''It's going to leave a hell of a hole,'' Shane Bond told 'The Press' on hearing the news.

''I can't really believe it,'' added Ross Taylor.

Skipper Stephen Fleming was trying to change Astle's mind until five minutes before he announced his retirement.

''Are you sure?'' Fleming asked just before Astle was to come out of his hotel room to make the announcement.

''We've tried a number of things, golf yesterday, anything he wanted he's had the run of the roost for a couple of days. Even five minutes before this I knocked on his door, but he's pretty certain,'' Fleming said as he elaborated on his attempts to stop Astle from calling it quits.

The Black Caps captain could not hide his disappointment and said he still did not know how his team, which has won just one game in the ongoing tri-series against Australia and England, would cop with the loss.

''It's massively disappointing. Not just a very good mate, but also a great player too. It's a sad day,'' he said.

Astle, meanwhile, said he had been mulling over retirement for the past eight months and was on the verge of announcing it before the ongoing series.

The 35-year-old father of two said he was no longer enjoying his game and that it would not be fair to the team if he continued without any motivation.

''I've been fighting this for the last eight months. I was very close to not coming here (for the one-day series in Australia) but I wanted to give it one last crack. But I think I owe it to the guys that I play with. My heart is not going to be in it and I think they are better to have someone who wants to be there and will give a lot more than I would have,'' he said.

Astle scored 7090 runs in 223 ODIs at an average of 34.92, which included 16 hundreds and 41 fifties.

UNI