captain Stephen Fleming. It helped New Zealand win the series. In the rain-affected 2001–02 Trans-Tasman Trophy against Australia, Astle scored moderately in the first two Tests and came back with a valiant 156 not out in the third Test. Though New Zealand had their upper hand throughout the series, it ended in a draw. In the tour he made a career best First-class score of 223 against Queensland. Following that, England visited New Zealand to play five ODIs and three Test matches. In the ODI series, he fare well scoring 221 runs in five innings at an average of 73.66 including a century in the last match. In the first Test, chasing a target of 550 runs, Astle batted at number five went on to make 222, his highest Test score. he set the record for the fastest double-century when he reached the landmark in 153 balls. He took 168 balls hitting 28 fours and 11 sixes before being the last man to be dismissed. During the innings he was involved in a partnership of 118 runs with injured Chris Cairns. Despite this New Zealand lost the match by 98 runs. As of 2013, it remains the second highest score by a player in the fourth innings of a Test match. 2003 World Cup and return Astle made a remarkable comeback to the 2003 World Cup after disastrous performances in the previous two editions that appeared. He scored a century, second in World Cups, against Zimbabwe and finished the tournament with 213 runs from seven matches at an average of 42.60. Immediately following the World Cup, New Zealand toured India to play two Test matches. In the first Test at Ahmedabad, Astle scored 103, when New Zealand were struggling thus helping them save the match. 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. However, he continued his good form in ODIs. In August 2005, he made an unbeaten 115 against India at the final of the Videocon Tri-Series that was held in Zimbabwe. New Zealand won the tournament and Astle was adjudged "player of the match". During the 2005 Chappell–Hadlee Series and the preceding tour