Cricket: Sinclair has fight to retain place

By RICHARD BOOCK

Mathew Sinclair, having introduced himself to the world of test cricket with a double-century on debut, is facing a scrap to retain his position in the New Zealand side.

The 24-year-old right-hander was virtually handed the keys to the country after his 214 against the West Indies last season, but suffered a form reversal against Australia and managed just 61 runs in his next six innings.

Dropped from the New Zealand one-day squad after three unconvincing outings, he now has to contend with extra competition in the test team's top order, and the prospect of a head-to-head showdown with Central Districts team-mate Craig Spearman.

With rookie Mark Richardson favoured to open the batting with Matt Horne in Zimbabwe, it seems Spearman's best chance of retaining his test berth is back at No 3, where he resurrected his international career last year.

Although much maligned after his struggles against Australia, Spearman has still proved New Zealand's most successful No 3 over the past three series and will make life difficult for Sinclair if he makes a strong start to the Zimbabwe tour.

His 16-test career boasts 864 runs at 29.79, but in four opportunities at first-drop last season he managed 209 runs at an average of 52.25.

"The addition of Richardson has given us more options in the top order," selector Brian McKechnie said yesterday.

"There's more pressure on for places and that's a healthy sign.

"Craig tends to be one of those batsman who looks a million dollars and then gets out inexplicably. He can play, there's no doubt about that, but we're hoping he'll introduce some more consistency and balance into his game on the upcoming tour."

It was always going to be a hard act to follow, but Sinclair's fledgling career still took a dramatic nosedive by anyone's standards last summer, leaving question-marks over his ability against quality opposition, and, not least, over his technique and method.

The Australian-born batsman fell bowled or leg-before on six out of seven occasions, sending his average plummeting from above 200 to 39.28 in the space of three tests.

As it happened, Horne experienced an even worse run of form last season, but seems to be in line to partner Richardson on the basis of his overall test record, which after 27 matches has returned a semi-respectable average of 30.55, including three centuries.

On the flip-side, however, the Otago opener and former Aucklander has failed to reach 50 in his past 18 innings, and in seven tests last season totalled only 171 runs at 13.15.

"At the end of the day, form will count for a lot," McKechnie said. "There are two warm-up matches before the first test against Zimbabwe and I'd imagine the performance of the batsmen during those games will underpin whatever final decisions are made.

"You also have to take into account the balance of the side, the type of conditions you're faced with and the composition of the opposition lineup, so it's not always as straightforward as it seems."