Injured Black Caps pace bowler Doug Bracewell has apologised and heeded a warning from New Zealand Cricket (NZC) about his off-field obligations following an incident in Napier.
Bracewell escaped a sanction, but is still in doubt for the first Test against England starting in Dunedin on Wednesday after cutting his right foot on glass while cleaning up his Napier home on Saturday morning.
A NZC release confirmed Bracewell had hosted a party at his house the previous evening.
New Zealand team manager Mike Sandle said the 15-Test bowler expressed disappointment at the needless nature of the injury and that “concerns about events at his home in recent weeks” had created unwelcome attention in the lead-up to the Test.
It has been reported that Bracewell’s home is regularly the scene of parties and has been the subject of noise control complaints more than once over summer.
“We’ve told Doug that he needs to take responsibility for what happens around him and that he needs to do all he can to ensure his preparation for international cricket is not compromised,” Sandle said.
“Doug is very sorry for any inconvenience he has caused his teammates and members of the public, and he has apologised to his neighbour in Napier.”
Sandle says he worked closely on the matter with the New Zealand Cricket Players’ Association, which monitors and advises players on their welfare outside the national team environment.
A year ago, Bracewell and New Zealand teammate Jesse Ryder were both suspended for one match after getting into an altercation with a member of the public at a Napier bar following a one-day international against South Africa.
Bracewell was to undergo a fitness test on Tuesday morning.
If the foot injury rules him out of the Test, his place is likely to be taken by Otago pace bowler Neil Wagner on his home ground of University Oval.
A fourth bowling role would go to left-arm spinner Bruce Martin or Ian Butler, the veteran seamer who was called to Dunedin on Monday on standby for Bracewell. Butler hasn’t played a Test since 2004 although he was recalled for the Twenty20 series against England last month.