Fleming still doubtful for Hamilton Test

The ongoing saga of Stephen Fleming's fitness took another twist when he was ruled out of playing for Wellington against Canterbury at the weekend following an examination by New Zealand Cricket's (NZC) medical experts.

Fleming missed the recent tour of Pakistan after he failed to recover from a stomach-muscle strain picked up on the tour of India. Although NZC said that Fleming was not fit to play, it refused to rule him out of the reckoning for the first Test against Pakistan which starts on December 19. A spokesman said that Fleming experienced some discomfort during a range of stretching exercises and further investigations were planned.

With Shane Bond and Nathan Astle confirmed non-starters, the selectors will hope that Fleming returns to boost the morale in a side which was hammered 0-5 in the just-completed one-day series in Pakistan. Although Chris Cairns led New Zealand in those matches, Craig McMillan is the favourite to captain the side should Fleming fail to recover in time.