Bond, Styris return to limited-overs squad

The experienced pair of Shane Bond and Scott Styris have returned to the New Zealand squad for the one-dayers and the Twenty20s against Australia starting next week. The players to miss out from the pool that was picked for the recent Bangladesh series are the fast bowling pair of Andy McKay (injured) and Ian Butler.

Bond comes back into the national squad for the first time since he tore an abdominal muscle during his Man-of-the-Match performance in the Dunedin Test against Pakistan last November. Australia are among Bond's favourite opponents, particularly in the one-day format where he has 35 wickets at 14.45 in 12 matches against them, including five four-wicket hauls.

"We are very happy with Shane's progress," Mark Greatbatch, national selector and coach, said. "He's had five or six games now with Canterbury and club cricket and he's ready to go.

"He's very, very excited about playing for New Zealand again in the one-dayers and Twenty20s again against Australia and has always saved his best for them so is looking forward to getting stuck in and helping us."

The other comeback man, Styris, had fared poorly in New Zealand's limited-overs contests against Pakistan in November and was left out of the home series against Bangladesh. "Scott's had really good domestic form," Greatbatch said. " We've asked him to go away and try and extend his game and we fell that he's done that so he gets an opportunity in the first two one-dayer's as part of the 13 man squad to play Australia."

The series gets underway on February 26 with the first of two Twenty20s, followed by five ODIs.

New Zealand Daniel Vettori (capt), Shane Bond, Neil Broom, James Franklin, Martin Guptill, Peter Ingram, Brendon McCullum (wk), Nathan McCullum, Jacob Oram, Tim Southee, Scott Styris, Ross Taylor, Daryl Tuffey