Taylor and Franklin passed fit for England clash

Ross Taylor and James Franklin have been cleared to play in New Zealand's second match of the CB Series against England at Hobart tomorrow after recovering from their respective ailments. Taylor suffered from cramps during his innings of 84 against Australia, requiring a runner midway through his innings, while Franklin bowled four overs before leaving the field due to migraine.

Stephen Fleming, the New Zealand captain, had earlier expressed concern over the Taylor's health, given that Taylor had a similar experience after scoring his maiden ODI hundred against Sri Lanka at Napier last month. He had to be taken to hospital, where he was put on an intravenous drip. Fleming said something needed to be done to prevent the problem from recurring and Taylor accordingly took blood tests.

After the 105-run loss to Australia, Fleming said his team had to sort out their batting woes quickly. Taylor and Peter Fulton made a push for the target of 291 with a fourth-wicket stand of 81, but New Zealand lost their last seven wickets for 23.

"There is some residue from that Sri Lankan series, there's got to be because we batted poorly," Fleming told NZPA. "At least we got a base there where we could have pushed on but it wasn't to be. We'll get into this tournament in the sense that the wickets are better, the conditions are more batter-friendly, and work our way in."

Both New Zealand and England go into Tuesday's game searching for their first win, and Fleming said they could expect some tough competition from England. England were whitewashed 5-0 in the Ashes and are still seeking their first win on a tour that started in November.

"I'm sure England will be looking forward to our match very positively just to see some new faces and put things into play that they haven't been able to do against Australia," Fleming said. "They'll want to prove to everyone else that they've been up against a good side, so if they can beat us it'll go some way to easing a bit of the pain."