Cricket: Southee snags homecoming ODI at Cobham Oval

Tim Southee showcases his cooking skills with the help of Chris Martin, 8, ahead of the Black Caps' ODI match against the West Indies. Photo / John Stone

Tim Southee may have been on top of his game on the barbecue but his performance on the field will be telling in the first Black Caps ODI against the West Indies.

Southee will be looking for a strong performance on his home ground of Cobham Oval and he'll be wanting the positive reviews of his grilling to match the scribes following the ODI.

"I'm not too bad on the barbecue, didn't have any complaints," he said.

"I heard someone saying there wasn't any burnt ones which is always good."

The right arm fast-medium bowler started his cricketing career in the North, plying his trade for Maungakaramea and Northland.

He said it's a privilege to play in front of Northlanders.

"I played a lot of cricket up here when I was growing up. It's right where it started so it's great to come back here and play," he said.

"I got a run in the last ODI game here (against Zimbabwe in 2012) so it's good to be picked again.

"Northland's a region where sport is a big part of the culture up here. They don't get a lot of international sport up here so it's nice to bring an ODI up."

The Black Caps are coming off a strong performance in the two test series against the West Indies but all focus turns to the limited overs formats where their opponents have found more success.

Southee said they've trained well and they're ready for whatever gets thrown at them.

"We've had a great couple of days training up here. The weather's been great so hopefully that continues tomorrow," he said.

"The guys are excited to put the whites away and focus on the white ball for a while. We're all ready for a big couple of months of white ball cricket.

"They've got a very dangerous opening pair (in Chris Gayle and Evin Lewis) and they've got threats throughout the batting order so we know we have to be on top of our game.

"They're very aggressive so we need to get those first 10 overs right. It's also a strength of ours in the early stages when we've got the ball swinging, hopefully we can get some wickets early.

"It's going to be a great clash between bat and ball."

Southee, who has taken 166 ODI wickets at 33.22, will only play in the first ODI with himself and captain Kane Williamson being rested for the final two matches of the series.

Despite the comfortable nature of their recent 2-0 test series win, Southee knows the West Indies are on the rise.

"It was nice to have won the test series and both matches inside four days but we've parked that and now can focus on a format where the West Indies are probably stronger," he said.

"They certainly are a more dangerous ODI and T20 side at the moment, though in saying that they're developing as a test side.

"They're on the improve but they've shown over a long period of time they are a threatening ODI side and we're certainly looking forward to the next few weeks."