Wellington (New Zealand), Apr. 1 : New Zealand must make one of their biggest selection gambles in recent times when the third test against India starts at the Basin Reserve on Friday.

A rehabilitated Tim Southee has been included in the 13-man squad for the must-win test and now he must play at the expense of James Franklin.

Yes, a bowler for a batting all-rounder.

Wellington (New Zealand), Apr. 1 : India''s cricketers, it seems, will have a wicket of their choice when they meet New Zealand in the third and final cricket Test at the Basin Reserve ground here from Friday.

Any prospect of New Zealand pressurizing a pitch to deliberately favour seam bowlers was ruled out after the Indians praised Australian Brett Sipthorpe''s work.

Wellington  - The governor of New Zealand's Reserve Bank, Alan Bollard, rebuked trading banks on Wednesday for raising interest rates on home mortgages even after the central bank dropped its benchmark rate to a record-low 3 per cent last month.

He issued a rare statement repeating that New Zealand's recovery from recession is expected to be very gradual: "In these circumstances we believe the rise in longer-term interest rates is unwarranted and inconsistent with the monetary policy outlook."

Wellington  - New Zealand has withdrawn

Wellington  - A seriously injured hiker spent two days dragging himself 3 kilometres down a New Zealand glacier with a suspected broken ankle and wrist after falling down a cliff in the Southern Alps, news reports said Wednesday.

Matthews Briggs, 33, had lain injured for a week hoping that friends would raise the alarm and searchers would find him. But he eventually set off for a mountaineers' hut, thinking: "If I don't get out of here, I'm going to die here," the Dominion Post reported.

New York  - The UN General Assembly approved on Tuesday New Zealand's former prime minister Helen Clark as the new administrator of the UN Development Programme.

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon nominated Clark last week to replace outgoing UNDP head Kemal Dervis of Turkey.

"Helen Clark was selected, amongst a group of excellent candidates, for her outstanding qualifications and numerous accomplishments in her long career," said UN spokeswoman Michele Montas in an official statement.