Mathew Sinclair

Mathew Stuart Sinclair (born 9 November 1975) is an Australian-born 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

Mathew Sinclair was born on November 9, 1975, Katherine, Australia. After the death of his father in an accident when he was only five years old, his mother moved to New Zealand.

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.

He scored 214 on his debut, against West Indies at Wellington in 1999, and followed that with 204 not out against Pakistan in the following summer. But despite this most promising of starts, Sinclair struggled to gain a permanent place in both the Test and one-day sides after disappointing scores. As a result, he was 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 'makeshift' 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.

In July 2013 he announced his retirement from all cricket. At 37, after 18 seasons in the Central Districts side he is the team's all-time highest run-scorer, with more than 15,000 runs across all formats and remained a solid performer to the last, averaging over 40 in 2012-13.^[1] It was also revealed that he is currently unemployed.^[2]

References

External links

• Player profile: Mathew Sinclair from ESPNcricinfo
• Player profile: Mathew Sinclair from CricketArchive
• Mathew Sinclair at New Zealand Cricket Players Association
• Mathew Sinclair's Official Blog

v t e New Zealand squad – 2003 Cricket World Cup 5 Harris 6 Cairns 7 Fleming (c) 8 Vincent 9 Astle 10 McMillan 11 Vettori 14 Tuffey 18 Sinclair 20 Mills 24 Oram 27 Bond 41 Adams 42 McCullum 56 Styris Coach: Aberhart