Shane Bond hopeful of recovery

Shane Bond, the New Zealand fast bowler, is cautiously optimistic of recovering from the niggling knee injury in time for the second Test against South Africa at Cape Town starting on Thursday.

Though he has not bowled for ten days, Bond expressed confidence that his right knee would pass the rigorous net sessions and said a decision would then be taken after consultations with the medical staff.

"It feels like it's settled down but the true test will be once I start running around," Bond was quoted as saying in the New Zealand Herald. "The symptoms have died down but they tell me it's a runner's injury so I won't know how bad it is until I start running around. I'll probably know within a couple of overs if it's going to flare back up.

"It's something that tends to get worse the more I do on it so I'd like to have a couple of reasonably heavy days and if I get through that fine I'll be good to go. If it gets worse I don't want to go into a Test and crack up halfway through."

Bond has been plagued by injury in the last few years, managing to feature in just six Tests since the 2003 World Cup in South Africa. "I've had a scan on it and it is swelling. That's probably a good thing but it's also frustrating knowing it's only minor and all you can do is give it rest. I was really looking forward to this series so to have something niggly ruling me out is a pain in the backside."

Bond rued missing out an opportunity to bowl on the bowler-friendly Centurion wicket in the first Test. "I suppose I was lucky I didn't have to bat on it but it was a Test in a series I was looking forward to. I just hope I can play some part now."

Meanwhile James Franklin faces a medical assessment on his left knee tomorrow before training. Franklin has had fluid on the joint since returning New Zealand's best bowling analysis in the first test, a match haul of seven for 135.

Hamish Marshall, the opener, who suffered cracked ribs after being struck by a ball from Makhaya Ntini, is also still experiencing difficulty breathing and is not yet assured of retaining his spot.

"Hamish was fighting for his life in the second innings and showed some real character," John Bracewell, New Zealand's coach, said. "We still need to finalise that decision [on who will open]. It may be based on the fact that Hamish has got cracked ribs and he may not have recovered in time.

"Until we see how Hamish is breathing once he starts pumping it, we won't be able to make a decision on selection. He's feeling a lot better but he's still resting to heal. As soon as he starts running we'll know the extent of the damage."