Mathew Sinclair

Mathew Sinclair

Personal information
Full name	Mathew Stuart Sinclair
Batting	Right-handed
Bowling	Right-arm medium
Role	Occasional wicketkeeper
International information
National side	New Zealand
Test debut (cap 208)	26 December 1999 v West Indies
Last Test	22 March 2008 v England
ODI debut (cap 113)	26 February 2000 v Australia
Last ODI	10 January 2009 v West Indies
Domestic team information
Years	Team
1995–present	Central Districts
Career statistics
Competition Test ODI FC List A Matches – – – – Runs scored – – – – Batting average – – – – 100s/50s –/– –/– –/– –/– Top score – – – – Balls bowled – – – – Wickets – – – – Bowling average – – – – 5 wickets in innings – – – – 10 wickets in match – – – – Best bowling – – – – Catches/stumpings –/0 –/0 –/0 –/0
Source: CricketArchive, 19 December 2009

Mathew Stuart Sinclair (born 9 November 1975 in Katherine, Northern Territory, Australia) is a New Zealand cricketer. He is a right-handed middle order batsman who has also opened the innings. He holds the equal world record for the highest Test score (214) by a number three batsman on debut when he opened his international career against West Indies in the 1999 Boxing Day Test.

Biography

When the call went out for New Zealand Cricket to develop depth in its players in order to ensure that the top XI had constant pressure on them, Mathew Sinclair was ideally placed to take advantage of the situation. In any other age of New Zealand cricket history, he would have been a regular institution in the side.

Despite a strong start with two Test double centuries to his name, the runs began to dry up. This saw him relegated to the fringe of the team, a place many players find it difficult to emerge from. Since then he has intermittently featured in the international squad, most recently being the One Day International against the West Indies at Eden Park in January 2009.

An injury to Michael Papps in 2004/05 saw him called into the tour of Bangladesh as a 'make-shift' opener. His preferred position in the top of the middle-order is not available at the moment with Stephen Fleming, Scott Styris and now Lou Vincent and Ross Taylor heading the field. He did enough on that tour to gain selection for the tour to Australia where he had mixed results in the Tests, but not enough to maintain his spot when the Australians crossed the Tasman later that summer.

His form in the ODIs in Australia was sufficient to retain his place for the return series, but he lost his place after averaging 15 in the first three matches.

The Central Districts player has worked hard at his game and there is no doubt that when he is in full cry he can be as attractive, and assured, as any of the New Zealand batsmen. His ability to continue on to make big scores when getting a start is unmatched in the New Zealand side, although others are starting to make an impression in that area. There is still a nervousness about his starting an innings, but there is no doubting the hunger to succeed and if he can continue to allow the latter to over-ride the former then some boom times may yet still be ahead for him.

External links

• Mathew Sinclair at ESPNcricinfo
• Mathew Sinclair at CricketArchive (subscription required)
• Mathew Sinclair at New Zealand Cricket Players Association
• Mathew Sinclair's Official Blog