Flynn set for promotion to No. 3

	On the way up? Daniel Flynn might be shifted up the order against West Indies © Getty Images Enlarge

Daniel Flynn could be promoted to No. 3 when New Zealand face West Indies in Dunedin on Thursday. He has spent the early days of his Test career in the middle order, but his tight technique could be a solution for New Zealand's top-order woes.

During the recent series against Australia, Jesse Ryder took the position at first drop but his more expansive style didn't produce a substantial innings. If Flynn is promoted up the order he will be behind a new opening pair with Tim McIntosh set to win his first cap alongside Jamie How.

Selector Glenn Turner said Daniel Vettori and new coach Andy Moles will make the final decision on the batting order, but he has been heavily involved in the planning.

"We had a lot of discussion about this," Turner told NZPA. "We're obviously conscious of seeing off the new ball and trying to protect our middle-lower order and it's a question of whether or not we think he [Flynn] can do the job better than Jesse.

"[Ryder] is a natural stroke player and as a consequence is a little bit looser whereas you find someone like Daniel Flynn is more compact," he added. "He's shown that he's quite a gutsy player and he's shown that he can be quite organised and compact.

"Ideally we'd like to have a number three who has been there for a while, who is solid and so on. We don't have that luxury at the moment so we're having to do the best we can and giving the opportunity to the players that are best equipped to handle it."

Although Flynn has yet to pass fifty in his seven Tests he has shown the ability to fight out tough situations. On his debut at Lord's he batted for a long time to help secure a draw before suffering a nasty blow in the mouth in the following match at Old Trafford where he lost a tooth.