Auckland, Apr 24(ANI): Former New Zealand cricketer Nathan Astle will sit behind the wheel of a sprint car at Ellesmere Raceway, as he embarks on a new sporting direction – driving in a speedway series.

Astle has been a keen follower of track racing, and now that he has retired from all forms of cricket, he has decided to follow his passion.

“I’ve watched plenty of it and enjoyed it. When I was playing cricket I could not try it because of the risk factor, but I’m keen to have a go now,” Stuff.co.nz quoted Astle, as saying.

The 38-year-old said that though he will be a newcomer at the event, he wants to tangle with the best and race at Ruapuna next summer.

“I’m still reasonably competitive and hope eventually I can mix it with them, but for now I guess I’ll be at the back of the group while I get to grips with things,” Astle said.

Astle further said he backtracked on his intentions to make a career in coaching because he was against relocating for the purpose.

“I enjoyed my time with Burnside-West, but found it quite hard to get into coaching in Canterbury. If I wanted to get to a higher level of coaching I would probably have had to go elsewhere, but didn’t really want to relocate my family,” he added. (ANI)