Cricket: Milne the ace of pace

Adam Milne, New Zealand's fastest bowler, is fully fit and raring for Sri Lanka. Photo / Getty

Injuries have been unkind to Adam Milne but, right now, the country's fastest bowler is fit, firing and relishing the start of the limited-overs series against Sri Lanka.

Milne is coming off a diet of Georgie Pie T20 cricket plus some impressively hostile bowling for Central Districts against Canterbury at Rangiora in a Plunket Shield clash a few days ago.

He is hoping to again show what an asset he can be against Sri Lanka, then Pakistan, over the coming month.

Milne was in the last short-form squad in Zimbabwe and South Africa in August, having been involved in the World Cup march towards the final last summer, only to be cut down by a heel injury before the semifinal.

"The body is feeling good and I've had a decent amount of overs under my belt," he said.

There were no speed gun radars in Rangiora but Milne was happy.

"As far as the rhythm goes, it's feeling good and [the ball] is coming out nicely. I'm starting to develop a bit of swing. I keep working on my wrist position, and keeping the seam nice and upright and hopefully it develops from there."

The 23-year-old from Palmerston North has played 25 ODIs, taking 24 wickets at 38. He's also played 10 Twenty20 internationals, for eight wickets at 32. While he's been pigeon holed as a one-day specialist, Milne still hankers for a chance in the test game.

There's a queue developing there, headed by Tim Southee and Trent Boult, with Doug Bracewell, Neil Wagner and Matt Henry in behind.

But Milne's ace is his pace. He's got no plans to dial it back. He knows it can be his strength.

"I really enjoy bowling fast and having the crowd behind you hearing them get excited. Seeing batsmen get a little quicker in their movements or feeling a bit rushed, it's always exciting. I feel like whole team can feed off that."

Milne's injuries have tended to revolve around the shins but he's learning more about body management.

"You can't bowl 150kmh-plus every ball, every game. It's learning how to manage the times you bowl quick and how you train.

"If you're trying to go flat-out 24/7 every day, it's not going to work out."

Still, Milne has no desire to settle for being a stock standard fast-medium bowler.

There's a frisson around the ground when he's in top gear, and New Zealand are hoping Sri Lanka are on the end of that in the coming days.