CRICKET - Knights reinforcements in for Shield game

After four hours of practice on Cobham Oval yesterday Northern Knights captain James Marshall expects an improved performance from his team, against Wellington Firebirds tomorrow.
The importance of the first round State Shield match hasn't been lost on Marshall who believes the addition of his brother Hamish and Black Caps-bound Tim Southee will provide the Knights with some impetus.
"Considering we haven't had a great start to the season in the four-dayers, it's important to get off to a good start and get a win under our belt before the Christmas break," he said.
"The teams that usually do well in this competition and end up in the semifinals and finals, are often the ones that start well and so for us, it's important that we start well with a win and have the other teams chasing us."
Marshall feels the current team understands the shorter version of the game better than the four-day game.
"Also with Hamish coming back into the squad that gives us that extra bit of experience in the group and with Tim (Southee) also in the group, we've got a tough job to choose 11 from the squad for the game and that's always a positive," he said.
Their opponents tomorrow, the Firebirds, arrive in Whangarei today. They sit second on the four-day State Championship table after recording two big wins, one of them against ND, but Marshall reckons the one-day series will be an altogether different test for them
"Wellington over the years have been a very good four-day side but in the one-day form of the game we seem to have it over them a little bit which is good for our confidence going into this game," he said.
The game starts at Cobham Oval at 10.30pm tomorrow.
For those worried Northland's Tim Southee might not get back into the Black Caps side for the rest of the West Indies tour, fret no longer.
Southee was named in the Twenty20 squad yesterday but the number of Northlanders in the side doubled with the selection of Central Districts left-arm bowler Ewen Thompson - his first call-up to the Black Caps.
Thompson hails from Warkworth and played for Northland but never made it into the Northern Districts side and left the area about a decade ago.
Thompson makes the side on the strength of his outstanding Twenty20 statistics. He has taken 16 wickets at an average of 17 and an economy rate of 6.97 and is also known as a punishing lower order batsman.
Head of the selection panel, Glenn Turner, said the side had been picked specifically for Twenty20 conditions.
Jacob Oram has been selected in the squad primarily as a batsman, but would be considered for bowling depending on his fitness.
The squad is: Daniel Vettori (captain), Daniel Flynn, James Franklin, Mark Gillespie, Brendon McCullum, Kyle Mills, Jacob Oram, Jeetan Patel, Jesse Ryder, Tim Southee, Scott Styris, Ross Taylor, Ewen Thompson.