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.
The injury will be assessed on Tuesday morning, 24 hours before the Test against England begins at University Oval in Dunedin.
Bracewell didn’t train on Monday after being instructed to rest at the team hotel.
He was scheduled to meet manager Mike Sandle in the afternoon to explain the mishap.
If he escapes sanction, the 22-year-old will then undergo a fitness Test which threatens to end a sequence of 15 Tests since his debut against Zimbabwe in Bulawayo 15 months ago.
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.”
Sandle arrived in Dunedin a day later than the team due to a family commitment and was also gathering information from New Zealand Players’ Association head Heath Mills, who alerted media to the incident earlier on Monday.
Bracewell could escape sanction 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.”
No standby player has been called in.
The squad had swelled to 13 when Otago paceman Neil Wagner was added following his performance in the New Zealand XI’s three-wicket defeat of England in Queenstown last week.
If Bracewell is to be replaced, a logical candidate would be Wellington fast bowler Mark Gillespie, who was watched closely by the selectors at Queenstown.
Two key New Zealand players already ruled out of the Test through injury are veteran spinner Daniel Vettori (achilles tendon) and opening batsman Martin Guptill (thumb).
Captain Brendon McCullum ran freely at training on Monday, suggesting he has shaken off a side strain incurred during the third one-day international in Auckland last month.
