Sulzberger gets New Zealand call-up

Two weeks soaking up the Olympic Games atmosphere while watching his fiancée in the New Zealand hockey team became only two days when Glen Sulzberger was called into the Black Caps on their African tour.

Sulzberger, 27, who will leave on Wednesday morning with the one-day specialists, Roger Twose, Geoff Allott and Chris Nevin, had only just landed at Sydney Airport when he realised something might be up.

Chris Harris has already left New Zealand and will arrive in Zimbabwe tonight to be considered for the second Test starting tomorrow.

Sulzberger was going to be watching Moira Senior in action at the Olympics with the New Zealand women's hockey team. He had rung some friends on Friday who were providing his accommodation to come and pick him up from Sydney Airport.

Two minutes after he called them; they received a call from Sir Richard Hadlee asking that Sulzberger contact him as soon as possible.

As soon as he heard the request, Sulzberger rang the convener of New Zealand selectors.

"He asked me if I was available, and of course I was, and told me I was urgent standby and that he would be back in touch.

"That was good because it allowed me to see Moira play on Saturday. But on Saturday afternoon I was flying out and back home.

"Moira was really happy for me although the two weeks I was going to spend there became two days. I was really into the hype of the Olympics too, and I didn't expect that. There is an amazing atmosphere over there.

"But as soon as I knew what was happening I wanted to get out of there so I could start thinking about the cricket," he said.

Selection call-up completes an amazing few months for Sulzberger who proved a star turn on the New Zealand 'A' tour of England over the winter. His spin bowling especially developed and he was the tour's leading first-class wicket-taker with 28 wickets.

His selection also comes after a useful domestic season last summer.

A non-academy product, Sulzberger had shown the rest of New Zealand's cricket fraternity that it is still possible to win selection without having been through the Academy system, Hadlee said.

Sulzberger said he had never given up the prospect of playing for New Zealand.

"Hope is not something you give up. But before last season I would not have thought that I would be playing for New Zealand within 12 months.

"I always thought that if I played well and consistently then perhaps I might get a chance eventually," he said.

Hadlee said that Sulzberger was in the side for the one-day programme in Zimbabwe, Kenya and South Africa.

The injured Daniel Vettori has been asked to return home for rehabilitation as he was likely to be out of action for a month. A scan has been taken and it showed no stress fracture, but another scan is to be done in New Zealand.

The team for the Test tour of South Africa is to be re-selected on October 25 and Vettori would be required to undertake the same sort of strenuous fitness test that Chris Nevin took, and passed, at the weekend.

Meanwhile, Daryl Tuffey will now stay on for the one-day series against Zimbabwe as cover for Chris Cairns. Cairns, who has suffered a knee injury, is not expected to be in doubt for the second Test but is unlikely to play in the one-day games against Zimbabwe. That rest should allow him to play in the ICC Knockout tournament in Kenya.