Chris Gayle continued to dominate the build-up to the World Cup quarter-final between New Zealand and West Indies when captain Jason Holder said a decision on his fitness would be delayed until Saturday.

The opening batsman’s lingering back injury flared up in the latter stages of the first round, forcing him to miss West Indies’ final game against United Arab Emirates, and he had not appeared at training in Wellington all week.

The 35-year-old finally took some throwdowns at the Basin Reserve on Friday and batted in the nets after having undergone a scan and pain-killing injection earlier this week.

‘The scan didn’t show anything major so we’ll just see how he pulls up today and make a decision tomorrow morning,’ Holder told reporters on Friday. – Reuters

NZ TO RELY ON TRIED AND TESTED

New Zealand will revert to their previous top-11 against West Indies in their Cricket World Cup quarter-final, with fast bowler Adam Milne returning for Saturday’s sellout, knockout match in Wellington.

Black Caps skipper Brendon McCullum gave a composed, relaxed 15-minute sermon at the Basin Reserve where he all but confirmed the 11 who took the field for five successive wins in group play, before Milne suffered a shoulder injury, would be restored.

‘I can sort of reveal it, but we need to have another look at the wicket. It’s safe to assume, barring Adam Milne coming in for Mitchell McClenaghan, it will otherwise remain unchanged,’ McCullum said. – stuff.co.nz