All-rounder Sam Wells will miss Otago's Plunket Shield match against Canterbury beginning in Invercargill tomorrow.
The 31-year-old picked up a calf strain while batting for University-Grange in a second-grade game at Kensington Oval on Saturday.
Volts coach Nathan King was not sure how long Wells would be sidelined.
‘‘It just depends how seriously it is injured. They can be niggly injuries, particularly for bowlers,'' King said.
‘‘At this stage he is out for the next game and has just been told to rest up.''Left-arm quick Blair Soper will replace Wells in the 12.
Soper has played 10 first-class games for Otago but has been in the wilderness for the past two years. A shoulder injury kept him out of the game for more than a year and he has also been troubled by an ankle complaint.
He has been playing club cricket for Green Island this season and also training with the Volts' extended squad as well.
‘‘We haven't just plucked him from nowhere. We've had him down at training for the past month and he has been bowling really well,'' King said.
Soper will probably carry the drinks, though, as all-rounder Christi Viljoen offers a better skill set for the mix of the team.
‘‘That is what is most likely going to happen,'' King said.
‘‘But we will have a light training [today] and name the [playing XI] after that.''
