“Neil Wagner will be back without a doubt” for the second Test against India in Christchurch, according to Black Caps coach Gary Stead.
That means New Zealand face a selection headache as four seamers compete for three spots after Kyle Jamieson’s strong showing on debut in the 10-wicket win against India at Basin Reserve.
Jamieson had match figures of four for 84 after taking four for 39 in the first innings as a part of attack that delivered what Stead called “one of our most accurate performances with the ball.”
“Kyle Jamieson made the most of his debut and the way he played, I thought was outstanding as well, did a really good job for us,” Stead said.
The thought of resting Wagner to give Jamieson another chance had crossed Stead’s mind but the No.2 ranked bowler in Test cricket had found it hard enough missing one Test let alone two.
“Neil Wagner will come back and he’s been a force in our team for a long time,” Stead said.
There would also be consideration of playing all four seamers if the wicket at Hagley Oval dictated that was the best approach.
“Generally, the wicket at Hagley have a bit in it as well, we’ve seen in the past that guys like Colin de Grandhomme were going to be very, very useful in those conditions as well.”
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