Rugby Injury Led To B. W. Sinclair s Success

Press, Volume CIII, Issue 30393, 18 March 1964, Page 15

Rugby Injury Led To B. W. Sinclair s Success

A Rugby injury sustained “'•in the last match of the 1958 season was primarily responsible for B. W. Sinclair becoming New Zealand's best batsman this season.

For there is little doubt that Sinclair's utter dedication to cricket, born of the season he had to sit in the stands and watch,

with a wrist in •plaster, has been mainly responsible for his present pre-eminence among New Zealand batsmen.

Sinclair came to the conclusion, after a summer of inactivity had left him overweight and positively pinning for some cricket, that complete fitness and atten-

tion to training were the only keys to the success he sought. Since then, Sinclair has been a prime example of how important practise and physical fitness are to the top-class athlete. Sinclair has put in many hours of road work, and exercising and he has a bat in his hand seven days a week, sometimes in matches, sometimes at net practices, often early in the morning, with willing friends.

So Sinclair’s success at Auckland, when he made 138 against South Africa, the highest test score by a New Zealander at home, was unquestionably deserved. But Sinclair was not born with cricket in his blood.

He had no brothers or sister, nor any parental interest to encourage him. He played tennis with as much interest as he played cricket. His interest quickened when he reached the first eleven which was

coached by Mr K. W. Fletcher, a man to whom Sinclair still turns if he has a cricket problem. After leaving school Sinclair joined the Kilbirnie club, and after two successful seasons in the second grade, he was promoted to the senior eleven. He had played only two senior matches before being chosen for the Wellington squad and he played four times for Wellington in the 1955-56 season.

After making some useful scores in 1956-57, Sinclair looked a New Zealand prospect, but the following summer was a bad one for him, and the season of 1958-59 was the one he spent watching, because of a broken wrist. The injury by a quirk of fate, was sustained in a match against his old college. National representation came to Sinclair in 1959-60 against Australia; there was

a gallant innings of 40 at Carisbrook, when the Australian fast bowler, R. Gaunt hit Sinclair so hard that the little batsman had to be taken to hospital with broken ribs. Even that was not sufficient to keep him out of the game: with his ribs strapped up, he came back to resume his innings. In the New Zealand winter in 1960, Sinclair went to England, and made some good scores in Birmingham league, playing under the former English player, C. J. Barnett But when he came back to New Zealand for the summer of 1960-61 nothing went right for him, and he failed to win a place in the team which went to South Africa.

Last summer, however, he played in all three tests against England, in each of them, showing the courage and application which have now paid such rich dividends.

Sinclair is an accomplished player, in the making of strokes. He is gifted with intense concentration, and with the determination to succeed. Badminton used to help keep him fit: now it is squash rackets with J. R. Reid, as well as the other training methods he adopts. At Auckland, he played with charm and maturity, with an utter fearlessness, and when his long innings was over, there was not thought of relaxation. Sinclair was out about 40 minutes before lunch on Monday, after lunch, he was in the nets again, with the New Zealand twelfth man, B. L. Hampton, to bowl to him.