Cricket: Fingers crossed as Mills bounces back

New Zealand paceman Kyle Mills gave the national selectors something to smile about yesterday when he was named in the Auckland team to play Canterbury in tomorrow's Twenty20 final at Eden Park's Outer Oval.

New Zealand's best-performed paceman over the past six months, Mills hasn't played a representative match since injuring his groin in the second one-dayer against Sri Lanka, and in more recent weeks had been prompting concern about the speed of his recovery.

But the Auckland selectors yesterday included Mills in a 13-man squad for the 20-over shootout, announcing that he would take his place in the line-up as long as he negotiated tomorrow's warm-up drills without mishap.

Coach Mark O'Donnell said the news would come as a boost for his players, who had fallen on hard times during the State Shield 50-over competition, and were keen to make some sort of amends tomorrow.

"It hasn't been an easy time for the guys in terms of the State Shield, but this is a chance to push all that into the background and the news that Kyle's back will only deepen their resolve to do that, I'm sure," he said.

"I couldn't tell you why we're doing okay in the 20-over format and can't buy a win in the 50-over stuff, but I can tell you that the team has enjoyed their success and are looking forward to the showdown against Canterbury."

If Mills plays, as expected, the chances are that Gene Andrews will drop out of the 13 and Lance Shaw will be 12th man, leaving the Aces with run-scoring potential right down to No 10, after which there is Chris Martin.

O'Donnell said he had been delighted with his team's progress in the Twenty20 format, and took time to single out Rob Nicol as one of the big movers in the game, saying his match-winning innings last weekend underlined his development.

"People bagged Rob last week for scoring too slowly but I thought he did everything brilliantly," said O'Donnell.

"The first priority for us was to ensure we scored 134, which would have guaranteed our place in the final on run-rate, even if we'd lost.

"Rob made sure we got to that mark first and then cut loose looking for the win, and I think he possibly surprised a few people with his strike power: he proved a very capable hitter at the end."

For all that, Auckland will need to be at the top of their game to subdue a Canterbury team brimming with aggressive and explosive batsmen, two or three of whom will be desperate to send a message to the national selectors.

Chris Harris is on the final stretch of the comeback trail after last season's shoulder injury, Nathan Astle needs to convince the selectors that he retains the fearlessness that once made him so dangerous, and Craig McMillan will be desperate to build on his recent State Shield form.

* TWENTY20 FINAL

Eden Park, Outer Oval, 2pm tomorrow

Auckland: Richard Jones (c), Paul Hitchcock, Lou Vincent, Scott Styris, Rob Nicol, Tama Canning, Kyle Mills, Tim Lythe, Reece Young, Mayu Pasupati, Chris Martin, Gene Andrews, Lance Shaw.

Canterbury: Chris Harris (c), Nathan Astle, Michael Papps, Peter Fulton, Craig McMillan, Brendon McCullum, Chris Cairns, Shanan Stewart, Andrew Ellis, Paul Wiseman, Shane Bond, Nixon McLean, Stephen Cunis.