Sinclair breaks a drought while O'Connor reaches new heights
Mathew Sinclair's hundred in the second Test at Port Elizabeth was New Zealand's first against South Africa since namesake Barry Sinclair scored 138 at Eden Park in March 1964
Francis Payne
05-Dec-2000
Mathew Sinclair's hundred in the second Test at Port Elizabeth was New Zealand's first against South Africa since namesake Barry Sinclair scored 138 at Eden Park in March 1964. It was just New Zealand's eighth century (and the highest) in 26 Tests against South Africa and the first in nine Tests since South Africa was re-admitted. South African batsmen have scored 22 hundreds against New Zealand.
The New Zealand centuries against South Africa in chronological order are:
100 Giff Vivian Wellington 1931/32 107 Geoff Rabone Durban 1953/54 135 John Reid Cape Town 1953/54 101 Zin Harris Cape Town 1961/62 142 John Reid Johannesburg 1961/62 109 Paul Barton Port Elizabeth 1961/62 138 Barry Sinclair Auckland 1963/64 150 Mathew Sinclair Port Elizabeth 2000/01
Vivian was aged 19 years and 121 days and was the youngest player to score a Test century at the time. His record stood until Mushtaq Mohammad scored 101 against India aged 17 years and 82 days. Sachin Tendulkar, Imran Nazir, Saleem Malik, Mohammad Ilyas, Mohammad Wasim and Javed Miandad have also since surpassed Vivian's record.
Sinclair also became just the fourth New Zealand batsman to register an innings of 150 or more in first-class cricket this calendar year. The updated list (which first appeared in last week's edition) is:
Mark Richardson 306 New Zealand v Zimbabwe 'A' Kwekwe Mark Richardson 212* New Zealand 'A' v Sussex Hove Mark Richardson 173* New Zealand v Boland Paarl Blair Pocock 167 Auckland v Wellington Auckland Glen Sulzberger 159 Central Districts v Wellington New Plymouth Mathew Sinclair 150 New Zealand v South Africa Port Elizabeth
Sinclair has now scored eight centuries in first-class cricket and on all but two occasions he has gone on to reach the 150 mark.
189 Central Districts v Wellington Masterton 1996/97 166* Central Districts v Auckland Masterton 1998/99 203* Central Districts v Northern Districts Wanganui 1998/99 182 North Island v England Lincoln 1999/00 214 New Zealand v West Indies Wellington 1999/00 102 Central Districts v Otago Palmerston North 1999/00 100* New Zealand v President's XI Mutare 2000/01 150 New Zealand v South Africa Port Elizabeth 2000/01
Two weeks ago we noted that in the first Test at Bloemfontein, Shayne O'Connor celebrated his promotion to number ten in the batting order by reaching double figures for the first time in his Test career in his 23rd innings. In the second Test he found himself batting as high as number nine for the first time in his Test career and promptly responded with another journey into previously unknown territory with a career best of 20.
In the process he added an invaluable 73 with Mathew Sinclair, just one run short of the New Zealand eighth wicket record against South Africa set by Shane Thomson and Dion Nash at Johannesburg in 1994/95. As we also noted previously, prior to first gaining selection in the New Zealand team at the end of the 1996/97 season, O'Connor had been batting as high as number seven in Shell Trophy games for Otago.
Central Districts fielded five new players in their opening Shell Trophy game against Otago at Wanganui. Gareth West, Peter McGlashan, Greg Todd (aged 18) and Ewen Thompson were all making their first-class debuts while Leicestershire batsman Ben Smith was also having his first game for Central. Missing from those who had played for Central last season were Craig Spearman, Mathew Sinclair and Glen Sulzberger (in South Africa), Andrew Penn (Wellington), Campbell Furlong (England), Tim Anderson and Lance Hamilton (injured) and Taraia Robin (bursary exams).
Smith went on to score 124, the highest innings by any player on debut for Central Districts. Only four players had previously achieved the feat of century on debut for the province. The full list is:
117 Don MacLeod v Wellington Wanganui 1956/57 25 & 119 Henry Sampson v Wellington Wellington 1970/71 119 & 0 Martin Crowe v Northern Districts Whangarei 1983/84 112 & 21 Simon Wilson v Otago Blenheim 1990/91 124 & 7* Ben Smith v Otago Wanganui 2000/01
MacLeod and Sampson were making their first-class debuts
In the opening round Shell Trophy match at the Basin Reserve, both Canterbury and Wellington forfeited an innings after the second and third days had been completely washed out. This was the first time in first-class cricket in New Zealand that both teams had forfeited an innings in one match, although at Whangarei in 1990/91, Central Districts faced one ball and declared and then Northern Districts forfeited their second innings.
There have been only eight first-class matches in New Zealand (out of the all-time total of 1813) where a team has forfeited an innings. The full list is:
Central Districts v Auckland Nelson 1983/84* Northern Districts v Central Districts Wanganui 1990/91 Northern Districts v Central Districts Whangarei 1990/91 Canterbury v Northern Districts Rotorua 1990/91* Otago v Central Districts Dunedin 1993/94 Northern Districts v Central Districts Hamilton 1996/97 Central Districts v Wellington Wellington 1997/98 Canterbury v Wellington Wellington 2000/01 Wellington v Canterbury Wellington 2000/01
* team forfeiting their innings won the match
The only other occasion when a first innings was forfeited was when Otago did so against Central Districts (above) after only 62 overs had been possible on the first three days.
Matthew Bell and Jason Wells shared a partnership of 166 for Wellington against Canterbury, continuing the success they have had together for the second wicket since Bell moved to Wellington. The pair now have four century partnerships together for the second wicket, one a season.
287 v Auckland Auckland 1997/98 215 v Northern Districts Hamilton 1998/99 129 v Auckland Auckland 1999/00 166 v Canterbury Wellington 2000/01
Kerry Walmsley made a return to Test cricket in the second Test at Port Elizabeth, having previously played two Tests against Sri Lanka back in March 1995. While he had to wait almost six years for a recall, it was nothing compared to the record set by Don Cleverley who played against South Africa at Christchurch in 1931/32 (the first Test between the two countries) and then had to wait 14 years till he played against Australia at the Basin Reserve in 1945/46.
What makes Cleverley's record unique in all Test cricket is that these two games were the only Tests he ever played. A fast bowler for Auckland, and later Central Districts, Cleverley played his last first-class match at the age of 43. Now aged 90, and resident in Australia, he is New Zealand's second-oldest living Test cricketer after 92-year-old Lindsay Weir.
When reserve days were first introduced for Shell Cup games for the 1989/90 season, the rule stated that if the team batting first could not face 30 overs, a new game would begin on the reserve day. The first time a match was abandoned and restarted was when Central Districts hosted Otago at Wanganui on New Year's Day 1990.
This season reserve days for the Shell Cup have been abolished to fit in two rounds of Shell Trophy games. The first game to be abandoned under the new ruling was, yes, Central versus Otago at Wanganui.
Mark Douglas was the only survivor from the match in 1989/90 (set down for Cook's Gardens which has since been superseded by Victoria Park).