Pak T20 series to be baptism of fire for Kiwi rookie Milne

Auckland, Dec 23: Central Districts fast bowler Adam Milne has said that he was surprised at being included in the New Zealand squad for the upcoming Twenty20 series against Pakistan.

The 18-year-old is in his first year of senior cricket where he has an experience of nine Twenty20 matches under his belt.

“Mark Greatbatch had been my network coach in Central Districts, before the Black Caps, so I just answered it as usual and he was fairly straight to the point,” Stuff.co.nz quoted Milne, as saying.

“He didn’t really talk about bowling as such. Just that I’d been selected for the Twenty20 series against Pakistan and just to look forward to it.”

“It was a bit of a shock. A few people had been saying I could make a late dash for it, but I really hadn’t taken too much notice of it,” he added.

At the same, the lanky right-arm fast bowler also insists that he has no doubts about his own ability.

“Obviously the selectors feel like I’m ready and I feel like I’m ready to step up as well. Twenty20’s a good format to get a little bit of exposure at the top level too,” Milne said.

New Zealand’s three-match Twenty20 series against Pakistan starts on December 26 in Auckland.