Another double century for Sinclair in Yorkshire League

New Zealand Test No 3 batsman Mathew Sinclair had been too quiet for too long and the Yorkshire Academy was on the receiving end in a premier league match with Cleethorpes on Monday.

Ten days ago he had the first failure of his League summer after scoring a double century and three centuries. Playing Castleford he was dismissed for 14.

Then against Harrogate on Saturday he was out for five. He didn't play in Sunday's national club championship loss as professionals are not eligible but on Monday he was back with a vengeance.

Batting first at Chichester Road against the Academy side, Sinclair shared a first wicket stand of 101 with Mike Smith. Of the 101, Smith scored 18.

Sinclair was in complete control as Cleethorpes, known as 'the Meggies' totalled 223/8 with Sinclair hitting 202 off only 170 balls. Included in his innings were 26 fours and four sixes. He did give a chance on 17 but it wasn't accepted and the Academy paid the price.

The innings took its toll on the Academy confidence and they struggled to 86/6 before a lower-order recovery was staged which allowed the Academy side to play out for the draw finishing on 202/9. Sinclair capped his day by also picking up a wicket.

What now has Cleethorpe supporters wondering is whether Sinclair might be able to complete a full scale assault on David Byas' league record which stands at 1394 runs. Sinclair has already scored 715 from six innings for the side.

Cleethorpes now head to Doncaster next weekend in a mid-table position which is a fair reflection of the season to date. If they can add a couple of more wins to their tally in the next set of matches then the lost ground of mid-May will soon be retrieved.