Cricket: Sinclair plays down rift in CD camp

Central Districts batsman Mathew Sinclair. Photo / Getty Images

A media report of a rift between the Central Districts Stags coach Dermot Reeve and a player is a storm in the teacup, according to Mathew Sinclair.

"I'll be the first one to admit there was a certain incident and it was a game situation and it meant nothing," CD batsman Sinclair told SportToday before today's crucial HRV Cup Twenty20 match against the North Districts Knights at 5pm in Hamilton.

The former international felt the Sunday newspaper had sensationalised a heated verbal exchange between Reeve and a senior player during the Stags' first defeat at the hands of the Auckland Aces at Colin Maiden Park this month.

"We've discussed it in the team and we've moved on.

"It hasn't really affected us and getting into the final [this Sunday] is our main focus," Sinclair said, as CD try to clinch a home final tonight with a victory over ND to emulate the feat of the CD Hinds women's first-class team at the weekend who nailed both the 50-over and T20 finals in their competitions.

The Hinds are relying on their male counterparts to secure a home final to avoid travelling because of their back-to-back final matches this weekend.

Sinclair said CD had treated their match against the Otago Volts last Sunday as a quarterfinal and, consequently, were on a high going into tonight's match as semifinal one against ND. Win or lose, the Stags are in the final.

He favoured a home final at Pukekura Park, New Plymouth, but emphasised the team wasn't looking that far ahead.

"It's one of the top five grounds in the world for me. It's a weird nor'wester in New Plymouth that can bring rain," he said, not ruling out McLean Park as a venue but stressing it was a lottery at any venue considering rain that was affecting the entire country.

Unlike the report on friction within the team, he said opening batsman Peter Ingram's Black Caps selection for the Twenty20 and one-day internationals against the touring Bangladesh side next month was a good distraction.

"Peter deserves his selection because he has shown consistency in all three facets of the game.

"The timing of his selection against Bangladesh is also perfect considering Jesse [Ryder] is out for a year," he said of the 31-year-old Taranaki-born right-hander who lives in Palmerston North.

The charismatic batsman who often sports a Merv Hughes-variety handlebar moustache was one of two new caps selector Mark Greatbatch, of Hawke's Bay, named in the squad yesterday.

Wellington left-arm fast bowler Andrew McKay, 29, is in line for his ODI international debut.

Aces batsman Lou Vincent who impressed with big scores in the HRV Cup, including an unbeaten 105, missed out despite becoming one of four Kiwis making the cut for the recent lucrative Indian Premier League auction.

According to an NZPA report, Greatbatch said Shane Bond, Grant Elliot, Kyle Mills and former bay cricketer Ryder were not considered because of injury.

"The teams have been selected with an eye to the T20 World Cup in the West Indies in May, and players for next year's ODI World Cup in Asia," the former international and CD representative said.

"We have picked two sides for Bangladesh, but our mid to long-term focus is on the two World Cup campaigns.

"A number of players who have missed out on these teams are definitely still in the mix for those tournaments and for the the upcoming series against Australia.

"Ingram had worked his way into calculations by scoring runs across all forms of the game," the Havelock North resident said.

"Similarly, Andrew has been impressing around the traps for a while, with Auckland and latterly with Wellington.

"He has some good pace about him and we wanted to give him a chance at the next level up."

The Twenty20 and ODIs against Bangladesh will be played between February 3 and 11.

The New Zealand test team to play Bangladesh will be announced early next month.

- HAWKE'S BAY TODAY