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New Zealand have named an injured Stephen Fleming in their 12-man squad for the first cricket test against South Africa beginning tonight in Johannesburg but will wait until the last minute to see if he is fit to play.
Selectors have also named Jeetan Patel in the squad
but if the spinner misses out, paceman Iain O'Brien will play his first test since his debut against Australia two years ago.
Should Fleming's hand not stand up to scrutiny, Lou Vincent, who has been left out of the squad, will step up.
Ross Taylor has been named at five, giving him his first test cap.
The rest of the predictable squad are Michael Papps and Craig Cumming the openers, Scott Styris, Jacob Oram, Brendon McCullum, Daniel Vettori, Shane Bond and Chris Martin.
Fleming dislocated a thumb during fielding practice last week and was yesterday unsure himself if he should play as he still felt some pain.
However, coach John Bracewell was confident the mainstay of the New Zealand top order would be fit enough to take on an aggressive South African pace attack of Makhaya Ntini, Dale Steyn and Andre Nel who were named to start the test.
Skipper Daniel Vettori is confident his top-order will be up to against South Africa following a hard few days of work in the nets.
The numbers don't make happy reading for the Black Caps heading into the series-opener.
In their warm-up match against an SA Invitation 11 in Bloemfontein, the New Zealanders collapsed to 126 for six and 81 for five, while against South Africa A in Bloemfontein they were 63 for six and 67 for five.
Vettori said Fleming was still in doubt for the test and would need to come through a training session unscathed in order to be declared fit to play.
"As far as the top-order goes, I think it just comes back to practice and the guys have worked exceptionally hard in the nets this week and hopefully once they're in the middle they'll find their feet. I have a lot of confidence they will," Vettori said.
The presence of a fully fit, charged up Shane Bond is a major plus for Vettori on his test captaincy debut.
Bond will play for New Zealand in a test against South Africa for the first time.
"To have Shane available is a huge plus. The standing he enjoys in world cricket just shows you what a quality bowler he is," Vettori said.
"He'll be anxious to perform because he's always wanted to shine in South Africa. It's great to have him taking the new ball with Chris Martin, who's also done very well against the South Africans."
The big issue in the South African camp has been the continued sidelining of Shaun Pollock, taker of the most wickets for South Africa, from the test team.
"Obviously we have a lot of respect for Shaun Pollock and what he's achieved, but the team that did really well in Pakistan deserves another chance," Vettori said.
Vettori said South Africa's lineup was expected with spinner Paul Harris getting the nod over Pollock.
"It was expected in some ways. The nature of the pitch suggests you have to play a spinner and it was reasonably obvious they would stick to the attack that did so well in Pakistan," he said.
South Africa's decision robs them of additional batting strength down the order and Bond has not been the only kiwi fast bowler to impress so far on tour.
With the backing of the in-form Martin and Jacob Oram, New Zealand will look to put pressure on a South African batting lineup that only really bats to number seven.
New Zealand: Michael Papps, Craig Cumming, Stephen Fleming, Scott Styris, Ross Taylor, Jacob Oram, Brendon McCullum, Daniel Vettori (captain), Shane Bond, Iain O'Brien, Chris Martin, Jeetan Patel (one to be omitted).
South Africa: Graeme Smith (captain), Herschelle Gibbs, Hashim Amla, Jacques Kallis, Ashwell Prince, AB de Villiers, Mark Boucher, Andre Nel, Paul Harris, Dale Steyn, Makhaya Ntini.
- NZPA
