Some niggly injuries have forced Otago coach Mike Hesson to put off naming his side for its opening Plunket Shield match against Northern Districts in Queenstown next week.
While the batting order looks robust, the bowling stocks are already under pressure with injuries to the province's leading seamer Warren McSkimming, promising medium pacer Anthony Bullick and left-armer Craig Smith.
Bullick will miss the opening match due to a groin injury but Hesson was hopeful McSkimming (stomach complaint) and Smith (hamstring) will be available.
"We've got our batting line-up sorted. It is just the bowlers we need to think about," Hesson explained.
"We'll do a few fitness tests [today] and see how they scrub up."
McSkimming picked up his injury while bowling in a warm-up match against Canterbury in Lincoln earlier this week. It is not considered serious but, with a long summer ahead, the Otago selectors may opt to rest their leading bowler.
That could pave the way for Otago fast bowler James McMillan. McMillan fell out of favour with the selectors last summer and missed out on a provincial contract this season. But he bowled well in Lincoln on Thursday, taking two for 53 to help Otago restrict Canterbury to 334 for nine.
McMillan is at his best with the new ball and may end up partnering Neil Wagner, with Ian Butler and Sam Wells completing the seam attack.
With the pitch at the Queenstown Events Centre expected to offer some turn on day three and four, spinners Nathan McCullum and Nick Beard are both likely to play.
The batting order looks fairly settled, with Craig Cumming, Aaron Redmond, Shaun Haig and Neil Broom expected to get the nod, and either Darren Broom or Nathan McCullum batting at No 5.
Otago won both its two two-day warm-up matches against Canterbury in Lincoln earlier this week - the second by just one run.
However, Hesson said both sides took a casual approach to the results and were more concerned with the way players went about their work.
Nick Beard was the pick of the Otago bowlers on the last day. He grabbed four wickets for 86 from 26 overs. Peter Fulton made a good start to the summer, posting 101, and Brandon Hiini scored 76.
"I was really pleased with the batting side of things. Everyone is in form, so we're certainly not scratching around for players who are in form," Hesson said.
"In terms of the seamers, we were able to step up our workload. But, obviously, we are a bit concerned by the number of players who have got niggles. That's the main concern at the moment."
Plunket Shield - Teams
• Possible Otago squad: Craig Cumming (captain), Aaron Redmond, Shaun Haig, Neil Broom, Nathan McCullum, Sam Wells, Derek de Boorder, Ian Butler, Neil Wagner, Nick Beard, James McMillan, Darren Broom.
•Northern Districts: James Marshall (captain), Graeme Aldridge, Jono Boult, Trent Boult, Anton Devcich, Daniel Flynn, Owen Ivins, Michael Parlane, Bradley Scott, Scott Styris, Brad Wilson, Joseph Yovich.
