Nevin on the road to recovery

Diminutive New Zealand one-day wicketkeeper Chris Nevin is in recovery mode after his operation last week for a lower abdominal hernia.

The hernia forced Nevin out of the New Zealand team for the Singapore Challenge 2000 when the side was still warming up in Brisbane.

It continued a run of injury frustrations that have dogged the Wellingtonian's career. However, Nevin refuses to even contemplate the run of misfortune and is concentrating on getting himself ready to return to the one day team at the end of the Zimbabwe tour.

New Zealand has three One-Day Internationals in Zimbabwe, takes part in the ICC Knockout tournament in Kenya and then has a one-day series in South Africa.

"My body is recovering. It's been better the last two days.

"I'm taking it pretty slowly and in three weeks time I hope to be fit and ready for Zimbabwe.

"It was very disappointing to suffer the injury, especially when you've only been on your first overseas tour for a couple of days," he said.

Watching New Zealand attempt to come to grips with South Africa and Pakistan while being forced to use left-arm spin bowler Daniel Vettori as a makeshift opener had added to the frustration Nevin felt.

"It was a chance to impress the selectors for me. My previous injury and groin operation had recovered well. I was handling the ball all right. I was feeling injury free for the first time in two and a half years," he said.

Then the injury struck.

But Nevin doesn't go through the rehabilitation process wondering what could happen next. That would be a negative process and he is not into that line of thinking at all.

"I'm getting physiotherapy. I'll stat my recovery with some basic catching, then some throw downs and then get into the nets."

Nevin made his international debut last year, playing two ODIs, scoring a 74 against Australia in his best innings and posting a strike rate of 76.57.