New Zealand leg spinner Todd Astle has decided to quit First-Class cricket to focus on limited-overs cricket.

The 33-year-old Todd Astle played 5 Tests for New Zealand in a period of more than 7 years. He is now approaching the end of his career and wants to focus more on white-ball cricket.

Astle told ESPNCricInfo, “Playing Test cricket was always the dream and I'm so honoured to have represented my country and province in the longest form of the game. Red-ball cricket is the pinnacle, but also requires a huge amount of time and effort. As I've got to the back end of my career I've found it harder to maintain the level of commitment required to be fully invested in this version of the game.”

He played for Canterbury in the domestic First-Class tournament. Astle played his final Test against Australia at the SCG earlier this year. He also handles his business apart from playing cricket.

“I'm really proud of what I've been able to achieve with Canterbury and the Blackcaps. To have the opportunity to play a Test against Australia at the SCG was an experience I'll always cherish. I'm excited to now focus all my energy into the white-ball formats, as well as give more time to my young family and new business,” he added.

In First-Class cricket, Astle has played 119 matches, scored 4345 runs including the highest score of 195 and picked up 334 wickets including the best of 8/148 in an innings and 14/234 in a match.

The national selector of New Zealand, Gavin Larsen praised Astle saying, “Todd's been an absolute stalwart for Canterbury in the Plunket Shield and his first-class record speaks for itself. To prepare and play four-day cricket at such a level for the best part of 15 seasons is a credit to him and his perseverance.”

(With inputs from ESPNCricInfo)