Agree. Also shows that contracts for FC domestic players are having an impact. A decade earlier and fringe Black Cap openers like Ron Hart etc had much shorter careers. It must help our bowlers to face experienced players like Jones, Papps etc.
He was unlucky not to play more tests. Coming into the 2003-04 season he had three good domestic seasons for Wellington (860 runs @ 45, 576 runs @ 36, 726 runs @ 45; 7 x 100s across the 3 seasons), a useful ODI tour of Pakistan with a depleted NZ side (168 test-style runs @ 33 but low SR) and should have been set to become a permanent test opener when Mark Richardson retired in 2004. But he struggled on test debut against Shoaib Akhtar and had a poor domestic season (215 runs @ 19, only 1 x 50). Then more solid run scoring years for Auckland couldn't put him back in the queue ahead of Papps, How, Vincent et al.
Also note that once again this season he hasn't bowled a ball, so keeps his unblemished FC bowling record of 1 ball, 0 runs, 1 wicket (IIRC from long-ago radio commentary, this was last-afternoon bowling, a full toss that Michael Parlane hit to deep bk sq leg, the final ball of the game before a draw was called).
