Mattthew Sinclair enjoyed a terrific start to his international career in 1999, becoming the first Kiwi batsman to claim a double hundred on Test debut and that too against a West Indies bowling attack led by Courtney Walsh. The very next year he made 150 against South Africa, this time against the likes of Allan Donald and Shaun Pollock.

However, his early form flittered away and he found himself being tied down by the strands of inconsistency. Sinclair was axed after a shoddy series against Sri Lanka in 2003 but an injury to Michael Papps helped him return to the reckoning as a 'makeshift opener' for the tour to Bangladesh. He did well enough, scoring a couple of fifties to hold onto his place for the Australian odyssey.

Unfortunately he squirted out just 71 runs in 4 innings including 2 ducks Down Under. He intermittently figured in the Kiwi squad with his last appearance coming against Australia in 2010. Sinclair was also an underachiever in coloured clothing. In July 2013, the Central Districts batsman announced his retirement from all forms of cricket. His first-class record though was second to none, he signed off as Central Districts' top run-getter with more than 15000 runs across all formats.

By Cricbuzz Staff