Sir Richard Hadlee would be well within his rights to claim that there has never been a dull moment since he took on the job of chairman of New Zealand's selection panel.

Injury has been his, and his fellow selectors, Ross Dykes, Brian McKechnie, David Trist initially, and Denis Aberhart latterly, constant companion. Not injury of their own, but to their players.

It seemed that things couldn't get much worse than New Zealand's African excursion of 2000/01 when the shuttling of players across the Indian Ocean did wonders for the airline profits of those concerned.

But today, as he received news that fast bowler Shane Bond hadn't recovered from his ear infection and needed to be covered in case he was unable to play tomorrow, he said that the injury concerns of the moment are the worst of his time in the position.

"There is just no continuity in selection," he said.

The problems were not insurmountable but they were a frustration as the selectors tried to settle on their preferred combinations for the World Cup.