New Zealand strike bowler Tim Southee is in doubt for the cricket test against Sri Lanka starting tomorrow at the Basin Reserve, Wellington.

Captain Brendon McCullum, returning to the scene of his epic knock of 302 against India in February, said Southee was battling an ankle injury and a decision would be made on his fitness tomorrow. He hoped for an unchanged side to that which showed dominance in the first test, beating Sri Lanka in four days to go 1-0 up in the two-match series.

If Southee is ruled out, seamer Doug Bracewell will come in, but no other changes are likely from the eight-wicket victory at Hagley Oval in Chrietchurch. It means fit-again all-rounder Corey Anderson misses out to Jimmy Neesham while if Southee is passed fit, Bracewell will miss out again to Neil Wagner.

"Tim's probably the major concern at the moment," McCullum said today.

"He's got a slight ankle issue but we'll see how he pulls up in the morning. If he isn't playing then Doug Bracewell will come in in his place, otherwise I'd imagine it will be an unchanged team."

"Tim will tell us. He's an experienced customer and a leader within the group and he's incredibly honest with his assessment. Most of the time he will play even if he's not quite right but in this circumstance he'll make an astute judgement of whether he's right or not.

"If we think that he is a risk that's not worth taking then we won't take it. If he thinks he's OK and we don't think there's a major risk there then Tim will start."



Bracewell was "bowling the house down" and the team would lose little with him in the side, McCullum said.

Batsman Kane Williamson has a sore shoulder, but McCullum felt he would be fit to play in Wellington.

The Basin Reserve pitch still had a bright emerald hue, 24 hours out from the first ball, and both captains are sure to bowl first if they win the toss. McCullum would dearly love to unleash Southee and new ball partner Trent Boult on the Sri Lankans after they finished the job in Christchurch, with Boult (34 wickets) seventh and Southee (33 wickets) eighth on the world test list for 2014.

"It looks pretty green again; it looks hard and it will have that good bounce that we expect here at the Basin. If we win the toss we'll look to have another bowl, but we know my success rate with the toss so there's every chance the openers will be heading out first."

McCullum lost the toss in the last two Basin tests on green day one pitches, against West Indies and India, and his success rate with the coin was generally low. But he insisted it wasn't just restricted to him.

"I checked Kane's stats as well and they're not great either. It's a New Zealand problem that's lasted a fair while, because Flem [Stephen Fleming] was a shocking tosser as well."

Sri Lankan skipper Angelo Mathews said left-arm spinner Rangana Herath, ranked second in the world, was likely to return from a hamstring strain after missing the first test.

"He's still 50-50, he has to go through a fitness test in the morning. He looks allright but we still can't take a decision on him yet," Mathews said.

Herath will replace Tharindu Kaushal while batsman Dinesh Chandimal is expected to replace Niroshan Dickwella at No 6.

Mathews said Sri Lanka had nothing to lose at 1-0 down in the two-test series.

"We've got no choice, we need to go out there and play positive cricket. If you lose 1-0 or 2-0 it doesn't really matter. We'll look to turn things around by winning this game and that's our main objective.

"The first innings is going to be crucial on this. It has a thick layer of grass once again just like Christchurch and it might have bounce right through the test match, and swing and seam."

TEAMS - BLACK CAPS VS SRI LANKA

New Zealand: Tom Latham, Hamish Rutherford, Kane Williamson, Ross Taylor, Brendon McCullum (captain), Jimmy Neesham, BJ Watling, Mark Craig, Tim Southee/Doug Bracewell, Neil Wagner, Trent Boult.

Sri Lanka (likely): Dimuth Karunaratne, Kaushal Silva, Kumar Sangakkara, Lahiru Thirimanne, Angelo Mathews (captain), Dinesh Chandimal, Prasanna Jayawardene, Rangana Herath, Dhammika Prasad, Shaminda Eranga, Suranga Lakmal.