Martin still ace spinner

Veteran Northland spin bowler Bruce Martin will be hoping he did enough in the first test against Bangladesh to retain his spot in the Black Caps for Monday's second test.

While Martin's match figures (2 for 175) don't make for great reading, he shouldered the brunt of the workload in the first test as he bowled 43 overs.

Currently Martin can claim to be the premier spinner in New Zealand, with Daniel Vettori still injured after 18 months, but new leg spin hope Ish Sodhi shows a lot of promise.

Earlier this week Black Caps coach Mike Hesson gave the debutant Sodhi a solid endorsement after his effort against Bangladesh in Chittagong.

The 20-year-old took three wickets on a dead strip which made life tough for bowlers and run-scoring. His match figures of 39.1 overs, 3 for 169 might not look flash but he produced some fine deliveries. Hesson put bouts of inaccuracy at least partly down to nerves.

"I thought he got better and better as the test went on," he said. "He was nervous, but learned a lot, and created a number of opportunities and on a surface that didn't have a lot of bounce he still hit the gloves a couple of times."

Meanwhile, fellow Northlander Tim Southee is also in Bangladesh but don't bank on him being recalled to lead the New Zealand bowling attack in the second test. Southee had ankle surgery in July and was omitted from the test squad to Bangladesh.