Cricket: Injury sidelines Nash, Wiseman

Strike bowler Dion Nash and off-spinner Paul Wiseman will miss the New Zealand cricket tour opener in Zimbabwe today as injuries continue to dog the team.

Nash's protracted recovery from a back stress fracture -first sustained in October - is being nursed along while Wiseman has swelling in a knee which needs medical attention.

Both are seen as good chances to play the second warmup game in Kwekwe next week but will be absent when New Zealand take on a President's XI in a three-day game in Mutare.

"We have got a slight injury with Wiseman, and Nash is still a little bit away from being competitive," New Zealand coach David Trist said.

"It is not really a concern. There is another game still to go so we want to minimise any risk."

Nash has made a measured recovery from the injury that ruled him out of the home series against Australia in February and March.

In recent weeks fellow pace bowler Geoff Allott - sidelined for almost a year with a similar injury - made a useful comeback to the New Zealand one-day side.

Trist said Nash "still has to be taken on a day-by-day basis."

"We hope he will participate in the second game but we are not prepared to risk him, just like Geoff."

The team for the first game will be named this morning. With Wiseman and Nash out, just 13 players are left for selection.

It should come down to straight choices between Northern Districts team-mates Daryl Tuffey and Scott Styris for the third seam bowler's spot, while one of the four batsmen vying for the top three spots will also rest.

Tuffey or Styris will back up Chris Cairns and Shayne O'Connor, who are likely to share the new ball.

The fight for top-order batting positions will hold the most interest in the two tour matches before the first test starting in Bulawayo on September 12.

It seems that Mark Richardson - barring an awful run of form in the next week - will make his test debut alongside Matthew Horne at the top of the order while Spearman and Sinclair are in a fight for the No 3 spot.

The pair will probably have a game each to press their claims, with form in the two warmup games having a big bearing on their chances.

Horne's preparation has been hindered by his gear having somehow gone back to Auckland along with some of physiotherapist Mark Harrison's gear.

The New Zealanders arrived in Harare on Tuesday and have trained there rather than on artificial pitches in Mutare. They made the 200km journey by coach last night.

They will also base themselves in Harare until a day before the game against Zimbabwe A in Kwekwe next Thursday.

The weather has been fine with temperatures in the mid-20s. Trist said the players were thriving in the conditions.

- NZPA