Southee rapt to play ODI at his home ground

With a series against tougher heavyweight opponents looming, Black Caps quick bowler Tim Southee says it is important to get as much momentum from the Zimbabwe series as possible.

The Northland born and bred Southee spoke to the Northern Advocate ahead of Monday's historic first One Day International at Whangarei's Cobham Oval, and said his team had high hopes of winning the series against Zimbabwe as they prepare to host South Africa in a Twenty20 match on February 17 in Wellington.

"With South Africa just around the corner, it's important to get as much out of this series as possible. It's going to be a big series against them and hopefully we can gain some momentum, going into that series with some strong performances against Zimbabwe," the 23-year-old said.

The Black Caps' hefty test victory (the Black Caps won by an innings and 301 runs) over Zimbabwe last week in Napier left the Zimbabwe team reeling, but Southee said it was important the Black Caps keep their feet on the ground.

"The win was obviously a big boost but we can't get complacent. Zimbabwe will have learned from their experiences in the test and, I'm sure, will be a lot more competitive in the one day series."

The Waiotira local took two wickets in the first innings and contributed 44 runs during the test match. He will be looking to impress in front of his Cobham Oval home crowd on Monday in the ODI. But he said there were a few players in the Zimbabwe squad the Black Caps should be weary of.

"They have a couple of good players obviously they rely on. Their captain Brendan Taylor had an amazing series against us a few months ago and, if he gets in and guys can bat around him, they will be a lot tougher," Southee reckoned.

Southee first played on Cobham Oval when he was 15, in a match for the Northland provincial team, and said he was looking forward to being back at the ground on Monday and being involved in such an auspicious moment for Northland Cricket.

"It will be an awesome feeling to be able to play for New Zealand in Whangarei, in front of friends and family," he said. "Something I didn't think I would do was play for New Zealand in Whangarei. It's a great reward for the likes of Gary Bell [Northland Cricket chief executive officer] and the rest of the people behind the scene that have worked so hard for this to happen. I'm sure it won't be the only time Northland sees international cricket."

Cobham Oval was approved as an international test venue last year, and the 5500 capacity ground is now one of 11 International Cricket Council accredited international venues in NZ.