Various players look to make impression

A 14-man New Zealand A squad leaves for Sri Lanka today having been guaranteed heavy security for the duration of the tour.

Sri Lanka will provide armed guards and motorcycle escorts as well as hotel security for the visit. Sir Richard Hadlee, the team manager, told stuff.co.nz that security would be the same as that provided to the West Indies on their tour of Sri Lanka during July and August.

New Zealand have suffered more than most nations from tours disrupted or cancelled by violence. Their 1986-87 tour to Sri Lanka was abandoned after a bomb blast and the1992-93 to the same country was shortened after a bomb went off near the hotel they were staying in. In May 2002, during a tour to Pakistan, a blast triggered by a suicide bomber at the hotel the New Zealand team were staying in Karachi caused a cancellation of the remainder of the tour.

New Zealand A will be involved in a limited overs tri-series with the host A team and South Africa A, which has already been playing four-day matches in Sri Lanka. New Zealand will play both teams twice before a final on October 1 and will then take on the hosts in three four-day matches.

Only three players in the squad - Jamie How, Bruce Martin and Jesse Ryder - have yet to appear for New Zealand at the senior level. The one-day triangular is expected to provide selectors a chance to assess the form and fitness of several players who are contenders for places for the senior team's one-day tour of South Africa in October.

Chris Harris and Daryl Tuffey are hoping to make an impression on the tour after recovering from injuries and others looking to impress include James Franklin and Chris Martin.

Hadlee said, "We want to see that these players are over their injuries and their fitness and skill levels are up to international standard."

New Zealand A 1 Peter Fulton (capt), 2 Michael Papps, 3 Mathew Sinclair, 4 Iain O'Brien, 5 James Franklin, 6 Chris Harris, 7 Jesse Ryder, 8 Gareth Hopkins (wk), 9 Jamie How, 10 Jeetan Patel, 11 James Marshall, 12 Bruce Martin, 13 Daryl Tuffey, 14 Chris Martin
Coaches Vaughan Johnson, Mark O'Donnell