New Zealand breathed a sigh of relief today when it was revealed that their captain Stephen Fleming would be fit after all to face England in the first Test at Christchurch starting on March 13. There had been some doubt after Fleming was struck on the hip by Ian Butler while batting for Wellington against Northern Districts in a State Championship match at the Basin Reserve yesterday. He continued to bat for a while, but it was soon apparent that he was struggling and he had to complete his innings with the aid of a runner. But a scan today showed that there had been no fracture.

And something good may even come out of Fleming's bruise – at least as far as Butler is concerned. Butler, 20, was given his international debut in the one-day series against England after just a handful of games at domestic level, but Fleming gave him just nine overs in two games. They cost 58 runs and the feeling was that Fleming had little faith in the man who was brought in to make up for the loss of New Zealand's other express pace bowler, Shane Bond. Perhaps the injury will help convince Fleming that Butler really is the man to lead New Zealand's attack in the Test series.

In the absence of Bond, and with injury doubts hanging over Chris Martin and Dion Nash, he might not have much choice.

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