ISLAMABAD. Feb 1 (AFP) Roger Twose cannot be ac cused of playing in the World Cup under a flag of convenience.

Rather, perhaps, one of inconvenience. Playing for a New Zealand side beaten Mack and blue by all comers over the past 12 months cannot be a comfortable ex perience.

The Englishman, however, is no trigger-happy merce-naiy for hire.

Twose has been playing cricket in Kiwi country for seven years. His girlfriend is a New Zealander. His sister lives there and he has bought a home in Wellington.

Even more convincing, he will lose money by making the switch.

As he explains: "Financially it's no contest but going to New Zealand isn't a matter of finances. It s whole-of-life decision, not made purely on cricketing grounds.

Twose — a nephew of former England wicketkeeper Roger Tolchard —leaves behind a lucrative contract with English champions Warwickshire, where he has blossomed over the past few years.

A left-handed opener, he is also a committed accumulator of runs (around 4,000 of them in his last two English seasons). Nothing very pretty about him. but hard to root out. Just the sort of foil the likes of strokemakers Stephen Fleming. Chris Calms and the untested Nathan Astle.

And. on balance, a better player than Brian Lara.

That was Twose's tongue-in-cheek greeting to the great West Indian when he arrived at Edgbaston after his world record Test innings of 375 against England. On his dressing room peg Lara found a note: Tor the world s second-best left-hander."

Twose then scored 227

against Glamorgan in the first match of the season while Lara could only manage a

century — but within weeks Lara had the last laugh with an unprecedented 501 not out against Durham.

At international level. Twose began his career controversially but is learning fast

Picked for the New Zealand squad to play in India, his first contribution was to call Saqjay Manjrekar a cheat during the ’ one-day cricket international in Nagpur after the fielder caught Chris Cairns while previously close to the boundary rope.

But he then put together the odd score lower down the order suggesting he will be able to compete at the

highest level including a creditable 59 and 37 In the one-oil Test against Pakistan

in Wellington and an important 41 that helped the side level the one-day series.

That was followed by 94 as an opener and a 214-run opening stand with Craig Spearman in the second Test against Zimbabwe in January.

If Twose does make the team for New Zealand's World Cup opener, he will appropriately — play against England.

Twose. whose father and brother both played for his native Devon, will relish the experience. "It will be a special game." he says, ”1 was born in England — in a car in Torquay in 1968 — and I love the place."