Vettori in doubt for Auckland

Daniel Vettori is in danger of missing Saturday's second ODI against Australia with a nagging neck injury. Vettori, who sat out the dramatic opening victory, was unable to bat or bowl at training in Auckland on Friday and is hoping the problem improves dramatically overnight.

"I got through the fielding session well but I didn't bat today so I'm just going to leave it until the last possible minute," Vettori said after training. "I've had this injury for about 13 years. It flares up and down occasionally. I'm just hoping I wake up feeling good in the morning."

Nathan McCullum, the offspinner, is expected to come in for Vettori if he doesn't make it, a move which would give Ross Taylor his second match in charge. New Zealand are already without Jacob Oram, who hurt his knee on Wednesday and is expected to be out for up to a month.

The Chappell-Hadlee Series had a heated opening when Mitchell Johnson and Scott Styris bumped heads late in the first game. Johnson was fined 60% of his match fee and Styris had to pay 15% in an incident giving extra spice to the contests.

"We're going to make sure we try to play it in the right spirit of the game without crossing that line," Vettori said. "A lot of people enjoy that intensity. We've just got to make sure it doesn't go too far. It's the responsibility of both teams and both captains to make sure it doesn't happen."

Shane Watson said Ricky Ponting had spoken to the team about behavior. "It's an important part because we want to make sure that we are competitive but we don't step over the line," Watson said. "Ricky had a chat to us after the game to let us know that there is a line and no matter what we can't cross it.

"So that's just something that Ricky and the coaching and the support staff are always talking to us about. We can't afford for anyone to get suspended or get fined because it's not in the spirit of the game. People enjoy watching two guys in the battle. That's what everyone loves to see."