Cricket: Anderson certain shin won't keep him from series win

Injuries have accompanied a chunk of Corey Anderson's career but he's hoping the latest niggle won't stop him being part of a series-winning New Zealand team in Hamilton.

A draw in the third and final test against the West Indies starting at Seddon Park tomorrow will give New Zealand the series; another win will make it even more emphatic.

Anderson has had scans on a shin injury. "I've felt a niggle over the last week and a half," the allrounder said yesterday. "It hasn't hindered me playing and I'm pretty confident I will be available for the test."

Anderson, who had shoulder surgery at 19 and groin surgery a year later, was one of four players - along with Hamish Rutherford, Neil Wagner and Ish Sodhi - who experienced their first test victory at the Basin Reserve last week.

The manner of that three-day innings and 73-run thumping of the West Indies sharpened the sense of what can be achieved at Seddon Park.

"It was magical to play in the last one and have that first test win, and be part of those nice traditions in Wellington," Anderson said. "We've gone about things in a pretty smart way and been playing some good cricket in the last two tests. In Bangladesh [in October] we had some decent performances but couldn't quite finish it off.

"So it is nice to come home, have a close one [in the drawn first test, in which New Zealand set the pace] then a win. Winning is a habit so if we can do that more regularly we'll be in a better position when we get put in those spots when we're up against better sides."

Anderson hit a maiden test hundred, 116 in Dhaka in his second test, which gave him a sense of belonging.

"Every game you want to do better and the more games I play the more confident you get.

"I'm loving it at the moment, being part of the environment."

So too wicketkeeper BJ Watling, who is becoming a key figure in the New Zealand setup.

His batting at No7 - 576 runs in 15 innings this year, at 41.14 - has added an extra dimension to New Zealand's innings, and his work with the tail has been significant.

"Tim [Southee], Wags [Wagner], Trent [Boult] and Ish [Sodhi] can all hold a bat so I feel really confident they can do a job and it's about getting us through from 300 to 400," Watling said. "Obviously I'm pleased with the way things are going. But it's a funny game and can bring you back down to earth pretty quickly."