Southee gets all clear to play for Knights

There is light at the end of the tunnel after a couple of frustrating months for Northland's Tim Southee.

The Black Caps' paceman injured his left knee while preparing to play in the Champions League in India, which ruled him out of the Black Caps' tour of Zimbabwe.

But after six weeks off from playing cricket, and intense rehabilitation to get the knee right in time for the upcoming test series against Australia, the New Zealand Cricket medical staff have cleared the 22-year-old to play for the Northern Knightsin their first Plunket Shield match against Auckland Aces at Whangarei's Cobham Oval, starting on Monday.

"I had a pretty big offseason ... I went to the United Kingdom and played for Essex in their Twenty20 [Friends Life T20] competition," Southee said. "I had a couple of weeks off after playing in Essex and then when I was preparing for the Champions League, I hurt my knee a week before flying out to India.

"There was some bruising to the bone and cartilage damage. It wasn't too serious but we took the cautious approach ahead of a long summer playing cricket, trying to get it right rather than risk damaging it more by going on tour in Zimbabwe - hopefully the plan pays off."

It has been a huge year for Southee, whose efforts were recognised when he won the award for ICC Twenty20 International Performance of the Year with his spell of five for 18 against Pakistan in Auckland during December 2010.

"I have played a lot of the cricket over the past 12 months - it has been a very enjoyable year - probably the best year I've had.

"That's why this injury has been so frustrating, I was keen to continue that good form this season ..."

Southee admitted he was not the best spectator but said he had been following his Black Caps teammates in Zimbabwe and felt for those on the growing injury list - Jesse Rider and Kyle Mills were ruled out of the one-off test against Zimbabwe with injuries.

"I felt particularly sorry for Kyle Mills who had worked so hard to get back into the test side - but that's part and parcel with cricket ... it is an opportunity for other guys to make their mark and that creates a bit of depth in the side."

Southee is hopeful of getting through the first two rounds of the Plunket Shield strongly enough to be ready to take on Australia in two test matches starting on December 1.

"I am personally looking forward to touring Aussie if fit," he said. "I was lucky enough to go there in 2008/09 and to experience playing Australia - the cricket grounds are lovely and it's a great experience all round."

But first things first, Southee is anticipating a good Plunket Shield contest against Auckland and is looking forward to playing with his domestic team, which looks to be shaping up nicely.

"I'm looking forward to playing at home, which is always great," he said.

"The Knights have a few guys away with New Zealand but have a lot of young guys coming through and few guys in there with a lot of experience to help them, so it's a pretty strong side and hopefully it will do well in all three forms of the game."

Two new caps come into the fold for round one of the Plunket Shield, Mitchell Santner, a left arm orthodox spinner, and former Canterbury Wizards player, Corey Anderson, who was very impressive during the pre-season.

Daniel Flynn and Bradley Scott were not considered due to injury.

Northland's Brad Wilson will captain the Knights for the Plunket Shield.

Northern Knights to play Auckland Aces, November 7-10: Brad Wilson (c), Corey Anderson, Brent Arnel, James Baker, Trent Boult, Anton Devcich, Brook Hatwell, James Marshall, Peter McGlashan, Mitchell Santner, Tim Southee, Joseph Yovich.