Axed Sinclair could leave New Zealand

Mathew Sinclair is considering a move to England, Australia or South Africa after being dumped from New Zealand's list of contracted players for the second time. Sinclair is one of only three New Zealand batsmen to have scored two or more Test double-centuries but he was overlooked in the 20-man squad as the selectors instead chose a backup wicketkeeper, Gareth Hopkins.

Sinclair had been on the outer since losing his national contract in 2005 but regained it last year and was recalled to the Test side for the home series against Sri Lanka in December. It was Sinclair's first taste of Test cricket since late 2004 and although he made only 36, 4, 6 and 37, he was not expecting to be discarded so soon.

"Obviously, with the big workload of Tests ahead, it did surprise me," Sinclair told the New Zealand Herald. "I thought if I was the incumbent, possibly they would carry on with me. As I've just found out, nothing's guaranteed. I'd love to be able to carry on here, but deep down I feel that's it for me."

Because Sinclair, 31, is considered a Test-only batsman, he was always going to struggle to earn enough points in New Zealand's ranking system when many players are viewed as Test and one-day cricketers. Sinclair, who was born in Australia, is now considering his options.

"I've been scarred twice now by the selectors and I really don't see much of a future for me here," Sinclair said in The Press. "I guess it's time to start thinking seriously about my future and whether I want to continue playing cricket and I'm sure the general public would understand that."

Although he has a respectable Test record of 1448 runs at 35.31, Sinclair's domestic season in 2006-07 was disappointing. He managed only 375 runs at 34.09 for Central Districts in the State Championship.