NZ still has a lot of work to do

New Zealand captain Stephen Fleming admits his side still has a long way to go if they are going to continue to challenge Australia this summer.

Despite coming close to snatching victory from the Australians on Monday, Fleming refused to get carried away by performance of the Black Caps' who flew in to Adelaide on Tuesday for their upcoming tour match against South Australia which starts on Friday.

"We knew when we came across we had a lot of work to do, nothing's changed with that even with yesterday, and we're just looking forward to the challenge of it." Fleming told Australian media from Adelaide airport on Tuesday.

"It's only one drop in the ocean, I think there's a lot more to go," he said.

Injuries continue to dog the New Zealand bowling attack with left-arm fast bowler Shayne O'Connor in doubt with a knee injury and Dion Nash being sent home for treatment of an abdominal muscle strain.

26-year old fast bowler Shane Bond, who has a first class record of 55 wickets at 27.94, will replace the injured Nash who battled through abdominal pains to score 25 not out and play a key role in New Zealand avoiding the follow-on in their first innings against Australia.

Bond, who recently took a season off in order to train to become a policeman, is probably most famous for breaking the Northern Lancashire league record for most wickets in a season with his Furness Club in 1999.

Although Bond is unproven at test level, his skipper remains confident in his ability.

"He's a good kid, he's pretty raw but he's got to learn quickly over here and it's a good place to do it," Fleming said.

Mail Cricket Editor