Cricket: The return of Tuffey

Daryl Tuffey's recall is a major boost for the squad. Picture / Greg Bowker

New Zealand's bowling attack received a long-overdue boost yesterday when Daryl Tuffey was recalled for the first three one-day internationals against Sri Lanka.

Arguably New Zealand's most potent international bowler in home conditions, Tuffey will join Northern Districts paceman Ian Butler in a 12-strong squad that could find no room for struggling batsman Craig McMillan.

The first three matches will be in Auckland, Napier and Queenstown, after which coach John Bracewell will reassess the combination for the remaining games in Christchurch and Wellington.

The news of minimal changes will come as no surprise to New Zealand punters, who have watched their team compile the world's best ODI record over the past year, including series wins over Pakistan, South Africa and Bangladesh, a NatWest Series title, and a squared series with Australia.

But with Bracewell opting for the bare minimum for the first three matches against Sri Lanka, there was no room for McMillan, Andre Adams and Tama Canning, all of whom were involved in this month's series in Australia.

For all that, the best news surrounded the recall of Tuffey, who had forged an outstanding record in New Zealand up to last summer.

A troublesome right-knee then ruined his tour of England and sidelined him from all cricket.

Tuffey last played an ODI against the United States in the Champions Trophy tournament in September, missing out on the later tours to Bangladesh and Australia in an attempt to get fit for this season's home programme.

The problem with his knee will apparently not go away until he takes time out for surgery, but the theory is that he should be able to get through the series against Sri Lanka and Australia if it is carefully managed.

At that point, New Zealand have no international commitments for four months, and it's expected that the big right-armer will consider a more permanent solution to his injury woes.

Coach John Bracewell said the return to fitness of Tuffey was a genuine boost for the squad and that he was impressed with the efforts from the NZC medical staff.

"He [Tuffey] has obviously picked up the workload," Bracewell said.

"He's been watched and monitored very closely by the selectors and the high-performance centre staff, and they should be congratulated for the work they have done to get him back to match fitness."

New Zealand have often toured internally with 13 and 14-man squads, but Bracewell believed the players not required for matches were better off playing cricket for their provinces, and suggested that he might also release the 12th man.

"With domestic cricket on at the same time, where it is logistically possible in terms of travel, we will attempt to release the 12th man to keep him match fit," he said.

"That's also reliant on the co-operation of the major associations providing us with quality [replacement] fielders."

The only other point of interest was the retention of Butler, who had been used only lightly in Australia before being subjected to an email mauling from Bracewell's brother Brendon - who labelled him pea-hearted.

Butler, who was also expected to be placed under pressure by Tuffey's comeback, eventually shrugged off the challenge, although it would be no surprise if he was omitted from the XI for the opening ODI on Boxing Day.

Bracewell said the form of the side over the past few months made it difficult to justify any changes to the top or middle-order batting.

"We were particularly impressed with the shift of Hamish Marshall to five in the batting order and how he worked with both the big hitters and the scramblers in terms of turning over the strike."