Southee Signs with Essex

Northern Districts bowler Tim Southee has signed with Essex for this year’s Twenty2 campaign, which begins in June. Whangarei-born Southee has played 19 Twenty2 internationals for his country, taking 22 wickets with best figures of 5-18. He will link-up with fellow New Zealander Scott Styris at Chelmsford, who he also plays with for IPL side Chennai Super Kings. “We are delighted to be able to add Tim to the squad for the T2 campaign,” Essex head coach Paul Grayson said. “His experience will be great for the team, he has had an excellent 18 months with New Zealand and so it is going to be exciting to see him join up with the rest of the lads. In total he has scored 162 runs across 51 one-day internationals.