Southee earns big test chance

Southee's man of the match performance during the final Chappell-Hadlee ODI has seen him retained in the New Zealand test squad but the pressure will be on him to continue and take wickets in the first test.
The Waiotira pace bowler took 4/36 on Saturday, taking apart the formidable Australian middle order and allowing the Black Caps to take control of the match and win by 51 runs - despite the Australians chasing only 242 for victory.
But the departure of strike bowler Shane Bond for the Indian Premier League combined with Southee's performance in the tour to date, means that expectations placed upon Southee will continue to grow.
Bond started the rot on Saturday taking the wickets of Brad Haddin and Ricky Ponting with consecutive balls before Southee, bowling at first change, took the wickets of Cameron White and Adam Voges to have Australia in trouble at 42/4.
They never recovered. Nathan McCullum dismissed Shane Watson for 53, then Southee returned to bowl Mike Hussey for 46 before Daniel Vettori dismissed James Hopes to end the Australian chase.
The 21-year-old Maungakaramea cricketer's performance with the ball was a marked improvement after he was smashed for 55 runs in five overs during the fourth ODI defeat in Auckland.
"Some days you have your good days and other days things don't go well and you just have to learn from those days and make the most of the next opportunity you get," he said.
Southee has been bowling faster than he ever has during the series - reaching upwards of 140km/h.
"I'm a little bit fitter and a little stronger than I was last year and I think the extra speed has just come with playing at this level and perhaps I'm hitting the wicket a bit harder than I was last year," he said.
The victory at Westpac Trust Stadium saw the Black Caps lose the Chappell-Hadlee series 3-2 but it gave them a valuable morale boost with the test series starting at the Basin Reserve on Friday.
"It was a dead rubber but you always lift a level playing Australia and it was a lot better losing the series 3-2 than 4-1 and although it was disappointing to lose, it was pleasing to finish on a good note and give us some momentum going into the first test."
There was only one change to the New Zealand test team, that was announced yesterday, from the team that took on Bangladesh - with Mathew Sinclair coming in for Neil Broom in the 13-man squad .
Southee said the return of a fired up Chris Martin would make up for the absence of Bond, who has retired from test cricket.
"Chris has been around for God knows how long and he's really been the strike bowler for the last few years - he's excited to get a bowl at Australia at home and he's fresh because he hasn't played the one-day series," he said.
With the "banter" between Southee and Shane Watson continuing during Saturday's match there is little doubt that the Australian all-rounder will be a prized scalp for Southee when the test gets under way on Friday.
"I think it adds a little bit of an edge to the game and that will probably continue into the tests.
"He's probably had the better of me so far so I'm looking forward to getting him out at some stage," he said.
 The test squad is: Daniel Vettori (c), Brent Arnel, Martin Guptill, Peter Ingram, Brendon McCullum, Tim McIntosh, Chris Martin, Jeetan Patel, Mathew Sinclair, Tim Southee, Ross Taylor, Daryl Tuffey, B.J. Watling.