Canterbury fast bowler Michael Rae will travel to Wellington today with the Black Caps ahead of the second Test against the West Indies on Wednesday.
Rae joins the squad after the West Indies took advantage of an injury-hit New Zealand attack to draw the first Test at Christchurch’s Hagley Oval yesterday.
Needing a mammoth 531 runs to win, the Windies got to within 74 runs of their target, with Justin Greaves, who hit 202 not out, and Kemar Roach, unbeaten on 58, the standouts for the tourists.
The Windies' 457-6 was the second-highest fourth-innings total in Test cricket
The uncapped Rae, 30, could bolster a side with mounting injuries to their pace stocks; Nathan Smith (side strain) ruled out in Christchurch and Matt Henry under a cloud having walked off before lunch on day four with a calf niggle.
Both will be in doubt for the second Test at the Basin Reserve.
Fellow pace-men Kyle Jamieson and Will O'Rourke are still both managing “return-to-play protocols”.
Blair Tickner, the reserve quick bowler in Christchurch, will also come into contention for Wellington.
Ben Sears, another possibility for New Zealand, is currently playing white-ball cricket in Melbourne after recovering from injury and will probably not be considered.
In the absence of Smith and Henry, the inexperienced Zak Foulkes and Jacob Duffy were left to shoulder the attack at Hagley Oval and the Windies cashed in, although the Black Caps were unlucky not to be given two decisions against Roach.
Roach was given not out to a caught behind and an LBW. Replays showed both were out, but the Black Caps had already used their quota of reviews.
New Zealand wicketkeeper Tom Blundell strained a hamstring during the Test and will be unavailable for the second Test, with Tom Latham, who scored 145 in the second innings, putting in a big shift behind the stumps as back-up keeper.
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