KEY POINTS:
ST JOHN'S, Antigua - Chris Martin was meant to be an engagement party in Auckland last weekend. Instead he wandered into the cricketing equivalent of a wake soon after joining New Zealand's injury-plagued World Cup campaign today.
Any satisfaction Martin felt at his return to the one-day squad was masked by the shuddering jolt to Lou Vincent's career when a Shane Bond thunderbolt caught him flush on the left wrist, breaking it clean.
The opener was heading home practically before his Auckland teammate unpacked his bags in Antigua after a hurried dash to replace Daryl Tuffey -- the sort of comings and goings that are invariably routine during New Zealand cricket tours.
A month ago, team management could barely believe their luck when only Kyle Mills was ruled out pre-departure for the West Indies with a knee injury.
But the old Achilles heel has subsequently put the boot in -- even before the Black Caps reached the Caribbean when, during the stop over in Los Angeles, Mark Gillespie discovered his bowling arm was numbed by a virus.
He finally returns to full training tomorrow, about the time Tuffey reaches home to recuperate from a second serious biceps injury.
Mindful of New Zealand's injury history, Martin wasn't overly surprised when a missed call to his mobile late Friday morning was from selector Dion Nash.
"I have had a strange feeling, and a lot of people around me have had strange feelings, that I might end up here," he said today.
"It's nothing to do with the spiritual, the psychic or anything .... with the high risk of injury being a bowler, there's always a chance."
To that end the 32-year-old gave himself only a short respite following the end of Auckland's State Championship commitments 10 days ago.
"I had 5-6 days off and then started up again. I decided that I'd look pretty silly if I stopped completely and turned up here with no bowling."
The laid back inswinging right armer was typically unfazed at the latest turn the sporadic one-day component of his career has taken.
He has only ODI nine caps since a debut against Zimbabwe in 2000-01.
Seven of those were in sequence before it took an injury -- he thinks to Mills -- for a recall against Australia five years later, the Chappell-Hadlee classic notable for the Black Caps' successful run chase of 332 for eight in Christchurch.
A solitary game against Sri Lanka was then his lot until Tuffey's unremarkable recall ended in frustrating circumstances against Canada in St Lucia last Thursday.
Martin, whose domestic figures were far superior to Tuffey's this season, would not be drawn on whether he felt justice had inadvertently been done.
"Maybe there's a strange irony in it, I wouldn't say justice.
"I don't feel anything negative towards Daryl, he got his opportunity," said Martin, who took 38 State Championship scalps at 23.57.
Arguably of more relevance is the combined 13 wickets at 24.53 he garnered from the domestic one-day competition -- and a respectable economy rate of 4.07 run per over.
He has not replicated those figures during his limited overs career, taking 11 wickets at 36.09 with an economy rate of 5.43, and accepted on the evidence of what he had seen on television, the West Indian pitches will be unforgiving.
Five or six runs an over was what bowlers had to deal with, said Martin, who did not anticipate any problems adapting to international one-dayers.
"I quite enjoyed playing the one dayers for Auckland this year so I've at least got a good picture mentally of how the white ball swings around for me.
"It will be difficult but I've played against enough of these guys in my test career -- and I've dealt with that pressure a lot better over the last few years."
- NZPA
