Cricket: Time to dump Macca says Trist

Craig McMillan

Time's up for enigmatic Black Caps batsman Craig McMillan, says former New Zealand and Canterbury cricket coach David Trist.

Trist believes McMillan has flattered to deceive too often and, after his recent run of failures, culminating in just 20 runs from three innings in the Chappell-Hadlee series against Australia, he deserves to be cut.

"I've been a tremendous supporter of Macca over the years, but I believe the bell is tolling for him now. He just hasn't delivered of late.

"At times he does not seem to bat to a plan and if there is one it's hard to work out. There was a lack of conviction about his last innings in Christchurch that concerned me."

Trist believes that the case for Mathew Sinclair should be reopened.

Just because Sinclair might not fit into the stereotypical mould did not mean he could not be successful for the Black Caps, said Trist who coached the team from late 1999 to 2001.

Trist said Sinclair was the only player to consistently advance his claims on New Zealand A's tour to Sri Lanka during September and October.

Trist thinks that New Zealand's forthcoming series against Sri Lanka and West Indies will provide ideal fine-tuning for finalising the squad to be taken to the World Cup next year.

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Meanwhile, Jesse Ryder's push toward a New Zealand one-day cricket shirt has met with unexpected opposition.

Wellington coach Vaughn Johnson called for cool heads yesterday as the drums beat even louder for his young dasher, after another dark day for battling Black Cap Hamish Marshall.

Marshall got a five-ball duck to give him 4 and 0 against Central in Napier, and with Craig McMillan also out of sorts, the selectors seem duty bound to make a change before the one-day series against Sri Lanka, starting on December 31.

Ryder is the leading candidate for a call-up following his flying start to the season with scores of 133 and 79.

But Johnson quashed the idea after Wellington's 10-wicket romp against Otago in Dunedin.

"There is a lot of talk about Jesse Ryder at the moment, but I think the guy needs to be left alone to have another season of domestic cricket," Johnson told a Wellington daily newspaper.

"If he has that, then I think he might be a contender for next year. He's only a kid and he hasn't got much of a domestic one-day record."

Ryder, 21, has scored 564 runs at 22 at State Shield level but his first-class record is far more impressive with 1369 runs at close to 50, including a highest score of 236.

Ryder was guarded when asked yesterday about whether he felt ready to take the next step.

"It's a bit early to say. Hopefully, I'll keep going the way I am, and if I get the chance I'll take it, but at the moment I'm not really thinking about it.

- NZPA