New Zealand pace bowler Tim Southee will undergo a fitness test on an injured ankle before play starts in the second Test against Sri Lanka in Wellington.
The opening bowler, who claimed six wickets in the eight-wicket win over the tourists in Christchurch, has what captain Brendon McCullum described as a “slight ankle issue”.
“We’ll see how he pulls up in the morning,” he said the day before the Test starts on Saturday at the Basin Reserve.
Southee, he said, had played with niggles before and would trust his judgment but said with the World Cup around the corner they may err on the side of caution.
“If we think that he’s a risk that is not worth taking then we won’t take it, but if he thinks he’s OK and we don’t think there’s a major risk there, then Tim will start.”
Doug Bracewell could play his first Test since 2013 if the 26-year-old Southee is ruled out.
“Doug Bracewell’s bowling the house down as well and if he does get an opportunity I’m very confident that he’ll perform too,” McCullum said.
Key batsman Kane Williamson also has a sore shoulder after landing awkwardly on it, but McCullum is confident he would be OK for Saturday.
If both were declared fit New Zealand would take an unchanged side into the final match of the two-Test series.
Sri Lanka captain Angelo Mathews said left-arm spinner Rangana Herath, who missed the first Test with a torn hamstring, was a chance to play.
“He’s still 50-50. He has to go through a fitness test in the morning but he looks alright.”
Mathews said aside from Herath, in place of Tharindu Kaushal, the playing XI would remain the same from the side beaten on the fourth day at Hagley Oval.
McCullum said if Herath did play he would ask questions of the New Zealand batting line-up on a green-topped Basin Reserve pitch.
“He’s a very, very good bowler. He’s a smart, no frills kind of cricketer who’s very accurate and keeps at you and very rarely gives you a bad ball.
“They will be stronger for his inclusion in the team,” he said of the 36-year-old who has taken 31 Test wickets against New Zealand.
