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Matthew Sinclair - Source: Photosport -
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The New Zealand cricket selectors have recalled Mathew Sinclair for the two-Test series against Australia, starting in Wellington on Friday.
Sinclair comes in for Neil Broom in the thirteen man squad that was announced on Sunday.
Sinclair has two Test double hundreds to his credit but, other than a single one day international appearance against the West Indies in 2009, he has been out of the national set-up since he was unceremoniously dumped after a dismal home Test series against England in 2008.
His record against Australia also makes for dire reading: in eight Test matches against them he averages just 14.13 and has only once got past 50.
Selector, Mark Greatbatch nevertheless said Sinclair has been brought into the squad as cover for the top order batsmen.
"We felt we needed a cover top-order batter, rather than cover for our middle order, so Neil is a little unlucky in that respect," Greatbatch said in a statement.
The 34-year-old Sinclair is seemingly vying for a place at number three with his Central Districts team-mate, the out-of-sorts Peter Ingram.
Meanwhile, Greatbatch also confirmed that captain Daniel Vettori will bat at six.
"He has been very successful there over the last half-dozen Tests. It also gives a very good balance to our side. It enables us to play the five bowlers we are looking for, whether that is four seamers and one spinner, or three seamers and two spinners in our squad, we have the ability to be flexible."
The Black Caps gained a morale boosting win in the final Chappell-Hadlee match in Wellington on Saturday night to go down in the series by three matches to two however a win against Australia in the longer format of the game is now a distant memory.
The last time a New Zealand cricket team beat Australia in a Test match was in 1993 and on that note, Greatbatch says success in the Test matches will depend on doing the simple things well.
"Batting time, getting through sessions, being patient with the ball, being disciplined and doing it day after day."
Black Caps: Daniel Vettori, Brent Arnel, Martin Guptill, Peter Ingram, Brendon McCullum, Tim McIntosh, Chris Martin, Jeetan Patel, Mathew Sinclair, Tim Southee, Ross Taylor, Daryl Tuffey, B.J. Watling
