Signs are good as key players recover from injuries

Injured New Zealand all-rounders Chris Cairns and Andre Adams are set to start building up their programmes for projected starts in the domestic competitions starting in November.

New Zealand Cricket's sports science medical co-ordinator Warren Frost said Cairns was working his way back up again after further knee surgery at the end of last summer and it was possible that he would take part in the NZ Cricket Academy's end of year programme which starts next month.

Frost said that compared to last year at the same time, when Cairns was also in recovery mode, he was looking better.

"Andre Adams will start bowling next week. He has lost quite a bit of weight and he has no back pain so all the clinical signs are good," he said.

Wellington's James Franklin is to have arthroscopic surgery for a shoulder complaint and is expected to come out of that all right and be ready to bowl by the start of the domestic season.

Otago's Shayne O'Connor is up to bowling off about two-thirds of his usual run-up and still has some work to do according to Frost. He is likely to play for the Academy during their first week of matches in October.

Frost, who accompanied the New Zealand squad to Sydney last week where they underwent their preparation for the ICC Champions Trophy tournament which starts tomorrow, said he was pleased with the physical state of the players. He did some rigorous testing work with them during the week they were there.

"They have all improved in just about every area. They are all in better shape than when they came off their tour of the West Indies," he said.