Cricket: Baptism of fire for Sinclair

By RICHARD BOOCK

WELLINGTON - Mathew Sinclair received a massive vote of confidence from the New Zealand cricket selectors yesterday when he was told to prepare to bat at No 3 in the looming second test against the West Indies.

Called into the squad after Matt Horne suffered a broken hand in the first test, Sinclair is set to make his debut in one of the toughest positions in the game, and against an attack which is certain to contain more bite than the wayward combination on show in Hamilton.

New Zealand coach David Trist confirmed yesterday that Craig Spearman would shift up from first-drop to partner Gary Stead at the top of the innings and that Sinclair would slot in at No 3 - leaving the choice between off-spinner Paul Wiseman and left-armer Shayne O'Connor the only unresolved aspect of the line-up.

Stead and Spearman warmed up for the Boxing Day test with an opening partnership of 95 during a practice game on Eden Park's Outer Oval yesterday, and Trist said he was satisfied everything possible had been done to reduce the impact of Horne's loss, and that the best options had been taken.

"Spearman is an opening batsman and is subsequently familiar with the role," he said. "He's been showing signs of the discipline needed to bat at No 3 and has some form under his belt, so he's the man for the job, really.

"Sinclair is 24 years old after all, and has played a fair bit of cricket already. He's been making runs and is used to batting at No 3 - and we have no qualms about batting him there in the test as well."

The man who this week celebrated his first test win as New Zealand coach was not an advocate of batting Sinclair down at No 6 to protect him from the new ball, nor was he mincing his words about the task facing him.

"There's nowhere to hide at this level," said Trist. "Everyone's got a difficult job and the No 3 position is no different in that respect. Our philosophy is that the replacement player has to understand what he's been brought in for, and that he needs to step up.

"He's been brought in to do a job, and we expect him to do it."

The West Indies completed another solid workout at the Basin Reserve yesterday and seem to be preparing to make a change to their test attack, with Franklyn Rose the most likely to jettisoned.

The right-armer has yet to find any rhythm on this tour and was a major disappointment in Hamilton, where his figures were none for 103 in the first innings (including six no-balls and a wide), and none for 28 in the second (five no-balls).

His place is under challenge from Merv Dillon, who was a surprise omission from the first-test side, and left-armer Pedro Collins, who - though slippery enough - is seen as more of a third-seamer.

The remaining question surrounding the tourists' line-up is whether they persevere with Ricardo Powell in the middle-order, or opt for the diminutive Darren Ganga instead.

Powell was out without scoring in his first innings of test cricket, and appeared so panicked by the state of the second innings when he arrived - not to mention Dion Nash's gamesmanship - that he played as if the score was 400 for three rather one for three, smashing six fours in a fascinating but ultimately useless 32-ball cameo.

Ganga, who made his test debut in the middle order, scored a century in the second innings of the tour match against Auckland as an opener, and appears better suited to the demands of the five-day game, particularly in terms of temperament.