England offspinner Graeme Swann (33) faces career-saving surgery on his troublesome elbow. He has been ruled out for the rest of the test series and is heading to the United States for surgery.
But New Zealand left-arm spinner Bruce Martin is just about to begin his international career after waiting patiently for more than a decade.
''Aww, yeah, 13, 14 years - who's counting?'' was the reply when asked how long he had been waiting.
The 32-year-old made his first-class debut for Northern Districts in February 2000 and has amassed 115 first-class appearances, 314 wickets, 2227 runs and 45 catches in that time.
He had wondered whether his time had passed. He came close when he was named 12th man for a test against Australia in early 2000.
His next opportunity did not come until this summer, when he was recalled for the series against South Africa.
''It was nice to go to South Africa and have a little taste,'' Martin said.
''But I did not get a run, so I'm pretty hungry now.''
Martin was named in the squad for the first test against England in Dunedin, beating Otago paceman Ian Butler for a place in the starting XI. But he will have to wait until today to make his debut, after day one was lost to poor weather.
Earlier in the week, it appeared as if New Zealand was determined to play four seamers. But an injury to pace bowler Doug Bracewell cleared the way for Martin.
''It was pretty exciting to be handed that cap first thing in the morning. But it was a little frustrating to sit around the shed all day and think about how it was going to pan out.''
After waiting all those years for an opportunity, Martin is probably going to be stuck with the unglamorous job of plugging up an end.
''It is quite a tough wicket to attack on, this one. It is generally quite low and slow, so it will be more attacking through the fields and hopefully, if we can get in a good position, then I'll come more to the fore.''
Martin's future in the game looked bleak when he missed out on a contract for Northern Districts after 10 years of service.
But a call from Auckland captain Gareth Hopkins proved to be a lifeline for his career.
''Hoppy rang me up and told me to come up there and since then I haven't really looked back.
''Things have started working and I've started picking up wickets again, which is nice.''
