Cricket: Vincent back from wilderness

Lou Vincent took his time in the international cricketing wilderness a touch too literally but credits it as the reason behind his New Zealand test recall yesterday.

The man who scored 104 and 54 on test debut against Australia in Perth in December 2001 was named to face them for a second time in next Thursday's first test in Christchurch, having virtually gone bush during the winter.

Vincent purchased a 2.8ha block in rural Kaukapakapa, 50km north of Auckland, spent days painting the house in solitude and hardly picked up a cricket bat for six months.

Unsure if he would earn another New Zealand Cricket contract, he even contemplated never wearing the black cap again and instead becoming a builder.

"There was nothing but an AM radio or me talking to myself," Vincent said.

"I just needed time away to think and get my game organised, have smarter thought processes. I just remembered the times I faced [Muttiah] Muralitharan and Shoaib [Akhtar] and thought 'maybe I should have done it that way'."

The results were spectacular, with 563 State Championship runs from five matches at 112.60, including a career-best 185 not out against Central Districts in January.

Even a broken index finger, suffered soon afterwards when he was hammering nails and missed his target, didn't halt his progress.

He sat out four State Shield one-day matches but returned with 152 in his most recent first-class innings against Otago last week.

"I might be able to afford to buy a nail gun now," he said.

Vincent, 26, played the last of his 15 tests against Pakistan in December 2003, when scores of eight, four, nought and four against Akhtar and company saw him jettisoned into an uncertain future.

He scraped into the bottom tier of New Zealand's 20 contracted players and when the new season started was determined to show he wasn't just a flashy player with all the shots who threw his wicket away on 30.

"I've been inconsistent before and I wanted to prove to people I could ... bat for long periods."

Vincent said memories of his Perth debut against Glenn McGrath, Jason Gillespie, Brett Lee and Shane Warne were fading, but it made him hungry for more.

"Imagine getting a century in my first game back? It's giving me a buzz thinking about it. We all know they're class bowlers but it's the same red ball coming from the other end. It's another awesome challenge."

- NZPA