Blundell, who suffered a hamstring injury while batting on the opening day in Christchurch, has been ruled out of the second Test, which will begin at the Basin Reserve, his domestic home ground, on December 10. Smith was not available to bowl or field on day four because of a side complaint while Henry left the field after the 35th over and didn’t bowl or field in the final session on day four. He subsequently headed to the hospital next door for scans on his calf. He bowled 11 overs on Friday for the wicket of Roston Chase.
“They’ve had scans and it’s really disappointing for them,” Oram said. “I feel for them and I have a lot of empathy for them. We’re basically waiting for the report to come back to decide what we’re going to be doing not only this Test match but the series going forward. So it’s a wait and see and you always have your fingers crossed but with just one day left and a quick turnaround, we’ll wait and see.”
In the injury absence of Blundell, Tom Latham juggled captaincy with keeping across both innings at Hagley Oval. He took four catches in West Indies’ first innings, helping New Zealand claim a 64-run first-innings lead. Latham then stretched New Zealand’s lead, scoring 145 off 250 balls for his first Test hundred in three years. Along the way, he also became the fifth New Zealand player to reach 6000 Test runs.
“[The body is] not too bad,” Latham told the host broadcaster after stumps on day three. “I’ll try to get the recovery but a really good day and pleased to be in the position we are.
“I guess that [Smith’s injury] is another thing but that hampers the decision [declaration] but it was nice to see a little bit of spin out there when we were batting and that’s an encouraging sign. We’ll chip in when a man goes down and the guys are looking to put a big shift in.”
New Zealand eventually declared on 466 for 8 on the fourth day, setting West Indies an improbable target of 531. West Indies, led by an unbeaten 116 from Shai Hope, finished day four on 212 for 4.
Jamieson returns to red-ball cricket
“Kyle as we know is damn skillful,” Oram said on Friday. “We also know he’s a guy who has had a few niggles himself over the last 12-18 months and one major one with his back. So, we’re just going to make sure we’re careful with him. And like we always say to guys, the bigger picture is really important as well. I know we want to win every game and that’s a given but at the same time it’s not to the detriment of the longer-term picture. But if he’s deemed ready to go, 100%…it will be great to have Kyle Jamieson with us. Let’s see how things pan out – he’s playing the Plunket Shield.”
Jamieson himself has been meticulous in the way he was managing his body after the stress fracture last year. His bowling program has been managed by high performance coaches Chelsea Lane and Matt Dallow who are not formally part of New Zealand Cricket.
“I have reflection and review processes with them after pretty much every day that I bowl, my sort of weekly, monthly calendar is mapped out with them, my total load tracking is done through them. So I’m pretty much fully through them at the moment, and then apply it into the different cricket environments that I end up in.”
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