Cricketers Nathan Astle and Craig McMillan have done a lot of things together over the years – same school (Shirley Boys’ High), same club (East Christchurch Shirley), played for their province and country together over a considerable period – they even married sisters.

Now they have both had laser surgery at Laservision Eye Clinic, Merivale, Christchurch. It wasn’t something they agreed to do together. Craig had worn contacts and glasses for the last eight years, Nathan had worn neither although he did try and use contact lenses for a while but could never get them in correctly. “My eyes did not take to contact lenses, and it would take me abut 30 minutes to get them in. I could get the first one in easily, but never the second.

“I searched around for a solution and decided on laser surgery. I went into it pretty thoroughly and had a good talk with the surgeon early on. Because the oil glands in my eyelids were blocked, I had to go on a six-month course of medication before I could undertake the surgery.

“It was one of the most nervous things I have ever done, but to be honest, it was so easy. From arrival to departure was only two hours but I was amazed at the result. After surgery they put two clear patches over my eyes for protection so I wouldn’t scratch them when asleep, but sitting at home watching TV that night I sneaked a peek out the side and could see the screen perfectly,” he said.

Nathan hasn’t played cricket since surgery so does not know how much it will benefit his game, but he has certainly noticed a big difference on the golf course – another passion he shares with Craig.

“I used to struggle with distance to the pin and also finding the ball in flight, but that’s certainly not a problem any more.”

Craig actually looked at laser surgery about four years ago, but decided to wait until his international career had finished before committing to the procedure. “There is always a very slight chance with this kind of surgery that there can be a complication. I had no problems with contacts so decided to keep using them until I had finished playing.

“To be perfectly honest, if I knew then what I do now, I would have had it done years ago. It’s just some of the little things that you notice, like number plates, street signs, even the colours of leaves on trees.”

While both have retired from international cricket, they have not necessarily been lost to the game as the emergence of  Twenty/20 in its many guises still holds an attraction, especially now with better than 20/20 vision!