If he’s not suspended then injury threatens to rule New Zealand pace bowler Doug Bracewell out of the first cricket Test against England following a late-night incident.
Bracewell cut his right foot in the aftermath of a party, believed to be at his home in Napier, on Saturday morning.
Veteran Otago pace bowler Ian Butler was called to train with the 13-man Black Caps squad on Monday, and will replace Bracewell if the 22-year-old is ruled out of the Test at University Oval in Dunedin.
An announcement on any sanction against Bracewell is expected to be made on Tuesday.
If he escapes punishment, he will undergo a fitness Test which threatens to end a sequence of 15 Tests since his debut against Zimbabwe in Bulawayo 15 months ago.
Team manager Mike Sandle won’t say if excess alcohol played a role in the incident.
“There’s a lot of facts I need to find out. If it is related to that (alcohol) then I’m very disappointed,” Sandle said.
“I’m aware of some allegations that have been levelled this morning. I need to sit down and talk to a number of people and Doug is obviously one of them.”
A year ago Bracewell and Jesse Ryder were both suspended for one match after getting into an altercation with a member of the public at a Napier bar following an ODI against South Africa.
Bracewell could escape sanction this time because the incident happened away from the team environment.
Either way, Sandle was unimpressed with the lack of care taken by the paceman, who rose to prominence when taking nine wickets during the upset defeat of Australia in Hobart 14 months ago.
“We have expectations on our players that they look after themselves and are fit for New Zealand,” Sandle said
“It is a distraction. We want to earn a lot of respect back with our public and put in a good Test match performance.”
The last of 31-year-old Butler’s eight Tests was against Bangladesh in 2004.
He returned to international cricket in last month’s T20 series against the English.
Otago paceman Neil Wagner seems assured of a start on his home ground if Bracewell is ruled out.
Two key New Zealand players already sidelined from the series are veteran spinner Daniel Vettori (achilles tendon) and opening batsman Martin Guptill (thumb).
