KEY POINTS:
Mathew Sinclair is likely to walk away from New Zealand cricket after missing out on a national contract.
Sinclair, one of only three New Zealand batsmen to have scored two or more test double hundreds, is looking at overseas options after being overlooked by the selectors, who yesterday announced the 20 players to whom they are offering retainers for the next 12 months.
The only other casualty from last year's gang of 20 is Auckland allrounder Andre Adams.
The two newcomers are Otago wicketkeeper Gareth Hopkins and Wellington pace bowler Mark Gillespie, both appearing on the list for the first time.
The previous year saw six changes, so arguably this is a consolidating list. Not that that's any comfort to Sinclair and Adams.
Sinclair is disenchanted at missing out and confirmed he is unlikely to stay in New Zealand.
He was viewed by the selectors primarily as a test batsman. He played the only two tests of the past season against Sri Lanka - doing as well against Muttiah Muralitharan and Lasith Malinga's handiwork as anyone - and, given those parameters, had high hopes of retaining his place in test series against South Africa, England (home and away) and Bangladesh in the coming year.
"Obviously, with the big workload of tests ahead, it did surprise me," Sinclair said last night.
"I thought if I was the incumbent, possibly they would carry on with me. As I've just found out, nothing's guaranteed."
It is the second time Sinclair, 31, has slipped off the list, and this time he suspects there's no coming back. So he's considering options in England, Australia and South Africa.
"I'd love to be able to carry on here, but deep down I feel that's it for me," he said.
In 27 tests, Sinclair has hit 1448 runs at 35.31 with double hundreds against the West Indies and Pakistan. But he has been in and out of favour in the past couple of years.
Adams played just three ODIs and two Twenty20 games last season, but had a solid campaign for Auckland to commend him.
Hopkins, 30, played five ODIs against England and the West Indies three years ago and impressed in Otago's State Championship campaign with three hundreds and an average of 85.66.
His inclusion owes much to the desire for backup to first choice gloveman Brendon McCullum. The workload is clearly going to be a drain on one wicketkeeper.
Gillespie had his moments as a bouncy, lively bowler in his debut international season, playing 17 ODIs.
Those breathing a sigh of relief yesterday would include opening batsman Jamie How and seamer Michael Mason.
The pecking order of the 20 is not revealed, but the top echelon will include Shane Bond, Stephen Fleming, Daniel Vettori, Scott Styris, Jacob Oram and McCullum.
Players have until June 14 to accept their contracts, which boils down to them being happy with their place in the order and with the accompanying remuneration.
Those who were close to a national contract will turn up on the major association list of 12 players, which is announced on July 15. Their contracts range in value from $24,000 to $12,000 for 12 players, with match payments on top.
Contracted 20
Batsmen: Stephen Fleming, Peter Fulton, Jamie How, Craig McMillan, Hamish Marshall, Michael Papps, Scott Styris, Ross Taylor, Lou Vincent
Bowlers: Shane Bond, James Franklin, Mark Gillespie, Chris Martin, Michael Mason, Kyle Mills, Jeetan Patel, Daniel Vettori
Wicketkeepers: Brendon McCullum, Gareth Hopkins
Allrounder: Jacob Oram
* Contracts run from June 1 to May 31 next year and are on a tiered system, with the top ranked player receiving a $128,000 retainer, and dropping in $5000 amounts down to the bottom four who each get $48,000. Match fees are on top of that.
