Cricket: Nevin might draw short wicketkeeping straw

By RICHARD BOOCK

Chris Nevin's international wicketkeeping future was looking even more tenuous yesterday after New Zealand arrived in Sri Lanka to begin preparations for their Champions Trophy defence.

The diminutive Wellington gloveman played in all five one-day internationals against the West Indies but is now facing a joint challenge from team-mates Lou Vincent and Mathew Sinclair, both of whom demonstrated useful form during last week's warm-up games in Australia.

At a time when the New Zealand selectors are searching for a capable No 3 batsman, Sinclair made the most of his chances in Australia and seems likely to head off Nevin for the job in Colombo.

The problem for Nevin is that if he is not selected to bat at No 3 he is unlikely to command a place further down the order, opening the way for Vincent to take over the wicketkeeping duties, possibly in New Zealand's first game, against Australia.

Vincent, having already demonstrated his ability behind the stumps during a tournament in Sharjah earlier in the year, kept wicket for the first two warm-up games last week, scoring 39 not out and taking two catches in the first match, and snaring four catches in the second.

In the same games, Sinclair scored 27 and 37 at No 3, before returning for the fourth match and making 43.

On the other hand, Nevin struggled with the bat in the second two matches (scoring 20 and 6) and did not effect a dismissal, leaving his place in jeopardy for what is effectively a sudden-death match against the Aussies.

From captain Stephen Fleming's point of view, the four matches against Tasmania and New South Wales provided some much-needed outdoor practice for the New Zealanders, proving useful in terms of both combination and form.

"It was a good week to get back into the swing of things and we've learned about the combinations we want to use," Fleming said before leaving for Sri Lanka.

"Rightly or wrongly, we put ourselves in positions where we had to fight to get out of it and we achieved that."

In Nairobi two years ago, New Zealand beat Zimbabwe, Pakistan and India while winning their first international tournament, but on that occasion there had been a reasonable build-up, including an ODI tournament in Singapore and a test series in Zimbabwe.

This time around, New Zealand start virtually cold in a three-team pool alongside Australia and Bangladesh, with the top side qualifying for the next phase.

While pleased by strong individual performances from players such as Chris Harris, Shane Bond, Sinclair and Fleming, coach Denis Aberhart said the side were still striving for more cohesion and would need every practice match possible before taking on Australia on Sunday.

New Zealand play warm-up matches against South Africa and Zimbabwe on Wednesday and Thursday nights, respectively.

"A coach is never happy, of course," Aberhart said. "But the four games in Australia were absolutely crucial for us and the practice matches in Sri Lanka will be just as important, given that we haven't been practising outside in New Zealand.

As for the wicketkeeping debate, Aberhart suggested the jury was still out on whether Vincent or Nevin would fill the role.

"Lou kept in the first couple of games and did pretty well, and Chris did okay as well, so we're still looking at it."

New Zealand's main injury concern when they arrived in Sri Lanka involved left-arm spinner Daniel Vettori, who was taking antibiotics for an infection in his spinning finger.

Aberhart said he was expected to recover within days.

New Zealand: Stephen Fleming (capt), Nathan Astle, Mathew Sinclair, Chris Nevin, Lou Vincent, Scott Styris, Chris Harris, Jacob Oram, Glen Sulzberger, Daniel Vettori, Shane Bond, Kyle Mills, Daryl Tuffey, Paul Hitchcock.