Sparks fly over Patel's 'disgusting' chuck

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The tranquility of the Basin Reserve has been sprinkled with a little spice, with Mathew Sinclair saying he was disgusted by former Black Caps teammate Jeetan Patel being called for throwing in a State Championship match on Saturday.

Perhaps frustrated by Central skipper Sinclair's vigil of 164, during which he was dropped twice, Wellington off-spinner Patel threw down an ugly-looking delivery with a bent arm that was called a no-ball.

Patel, who finished with 1-116 from 30 overs, didn't want to discuss the incident, but Sinclair fired up.

"I'm not sure what that's all about, I was pretty disgusted with it, my personal thoughts," Sinclair said.

"My opinion is he is a Black Caps player, he's a contracted player, he's represented his country, even though it was a hard slog day, some would say it's not in the spirit of the game."

After Patel's delivery, Sinclair turned to batting partner Bevan Griggs and said: "We've got them exactly where we want them.

"You won't see things like that in my team, I can tell you that," Sinclair said. "We'll play hard and give it 120 [per cent] without having to throw the ball."

Wellington coach Anthony Stuart returned serve, saying Sinclair should "just shut up and bat".

"It's got nothing to do with him, to be honest," Stuart said. "The umpire's there to make a call and I don't know what his problem is."

Stuart said Patel's delivery was not a result of frustration but a genuine attempt to bowl a doosra, a ball perfected by Sri Lankan wizard Muttiah Muralitharan, which turns away from the right-hander.

"He was trying a doosra, he [Sinclair] has just got to shut up and bat," Stuart said.

"He wasn't trying to disrespect anyone, he was trying something different and it didn't work.

"They were obviously batting pretty well."

Stuart said that Patel regularly experimented with different deliveries in the nets, including leg- spinners.

"It's a non-event, as far as I'm concerned."

Sinclair, 33, has played 32 tests and 53 one-dayers for New Zealand and Patel, 28, has played five tests and 32 one-dayers.

Wellington resume today on 261-5 in pursuit of Central's first innings score of 523.

- © Fairfax NZ News