Wicketkeeper BJ Watling is doubtful for New Zealand’s opening test against west Indies due to a hip injury.
The uncapped tom Blundell is in line for a debut if Watling is not available .
The problem has forced Watling to sit out the last two rounds of the new Zealand domestic league and will play only as a batsman against Auckland this week in what will effectively be a fitness test against Otago at the end of the month where he will have to keep wicket to be available for the first test in wellington on December 1.
If Watling is not able to take his place in the squad at the Basin reserve – it would be the first test he has missed since Headingly against England in 2013.
It would likely mean a first cap for 27-year-old Blundell ahead of handing the gloves to one-day keeper tom Latham.