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Fleming may miss opening ODI
11/24/2005
WELLINGTON, Nov 23 (AFP): New Zealand captain Stephen Fleming may miss the opening one day cricket international against Australia early next month but the selection of veteran allrounder Chris Cairns' will restore some experience to the side.
New Zealand selectors Wednesday included Fleming in the 14-man squad for the three match Chappell-Hadlee series but said Fleming may miss the first match on December 3 because of an undisclosed "personal medical matter".
Coach John Bracewell was also unable to confirm whether the captain would be available for the remaining two matches on December 7 and 10.
"It's a medical issue, not a cricket one," Bracewell said.
Spin bowler Daniel Vettori would take the captaincy if Fleming cannot play.
"Every cloud may have a silver lining in terms of development of leaders and potential captains within our side," Bracewell said.
Cairns has returned to the side after being dropped for the recent one-day series in South Africa, in which New Zealand was humbled 4-nil.
The 35-year-old, who has retired from Test cricket but hopes to continue in the short version of the game until after the 2007 World Cup, was dropped due to lack of match fitness for South Africa.
But Bracewell said Cairns was ready to step back into the international arena after working on his fitness and playing well at the National Academy at Lincoln, near Christchurch.
Fellow all-rounder Jacob Oram, who also struggled for form in Zimbabwe and South Africa after recovering from a back injury, is also showing a welcome return to fitness and form, Bracewell said.
New Zealand squad
Stephen Fleming (captain), Nathan Astle, Lou Vincent, Hamish Marshall, James Marshall, Scott Styris, Craig McMillan, Brendon McCullum, Chris Cairns, Jacob Oram, Daniel Vettori, Kyle Mills, James Franklin, Shane Bond.
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