Injury may rule Taylor out of first one dayer

New Zealand captain Ross Taylor is "touch and go" to be fit for the start of the ODI series against South Africa next week. Taylor tore a calf muscle during his century against Zimbabwe in Napier on January 27. The early prognosis had Taylor sidelined for between four and six weeks. A return date was set at the opening ODI in Wellington next Saturday. On the basis that Taylor's recovery was swift and successful, that would have meant next weekend the earliest possible return date. However national selection manager Kim Littlejohn confirmed yesterday that Taylor's prospects of being ready for that game are far from certain. "It's progressing a little slower than anticipated," Littlejohn said. "It is a little touch and go at this stage from our perspective, but there's no need to rush it." Taylor is meeting New Zealand Cricket fitness staff in Hamilton today. That assessment will make clearer his chances of being ready for that first ODI. Taylor has admitted he had his eye on the earliest return scenario. "When the physio told me four to six weeks, I automatically thought four weeks," he said. "We'll just see how it goes but I won't be pushing myself. If I'm not quite ready, I'll just have to miss out on the one-dayers." Littlejohn said he and national coach John Wright, who double as New Zealand selectors, will adopt a conservative stance on the country's best batsman. The first of the three tests against the South Africans starts in Dunedin on March 7. It is a case of priorities, combined with taking a sensible line. "Ross is invaluable in the test team so we have to make sure we get that right," Littlejohn said. "The last thing we want is for him to go into the ODIs and the injury goes again and he's out for three months rather than a few weeks." Taylor, who averages 42.85 from his 34 tests, is understandably itching to get back into action. It may be that his return could come in the second ODI, which is in Napier on February 29 or, depending on the medical opinions, he might be held back to the first test. And Littlejohn admitted the parameters surrounding the fitness and possible return to the national side for talented lefthander Jesse Ryder were slightly different from other New Zealand players. Ryder damaged a calf muscle just after Christmas in an HRV Cup game for Wellington. He returned to action with a bang in their final Ford Trophy round on February 1, belting 97 off 67 balls against Otago, and is playing in the Plunket Shield game against Canterbury, which began at Rangiora yesterday. If a return to the test side is at the forefront of his thinking, he has two shield games to show he's ready to return for the first test, if wanted by the selectors. Ryder's history of injuries requires caution with his return, and a careful attitude towards his full fitness. "We'd like to see him play some cricket and see how he backs up," Littlejohn said. "The team is performing really well at the moment and there's no need to be rushing players back and having them break down in the middle of a game." Littlejohn's understanding is that Ryder's rehabilitation from hislatest injury breakdown is progressing well.