Kyle Mills gearing up for international return

Kyle Mills, the New Zealand fast bowler, has said he is eager to return to international cricket following a lengthy lay-off due to injuries to his knee and shoulder. Mills is one of five New Zealand players in the World Twenty20 squad to make a comeback after sustaining injuries that had threatened to affect their participation in the tournament.

"It's been quite hard to rehab the knee and shoulder at the same time," Mills, who just completed a training camp in Brisbane with the rest of the squad, said. "It's been good to get bowling again and get back into the team environment."

Mills last played an international game in November 2009 but had to return home to attend to a persistent knee problem and a shoulder injury he suffered while fielding. Mills attributed his recovery to an "aggressive" rehabilitation process, which has enabled him to make a return a month earlier than anticipated. "If I just had shoulder surgery I could keep running but I had to lay off because of my leg. Then I couldn't do a lot of weights," he said. "It's been a bit of a rollercoaster ride because we've pushed it (rehab) pretty hard."

Mills admitted the demand to bowl shorter spells in Twenty20 cricket made his return possible, and that if it had been a 50-over tournament a comeback would have been unlikely. "It will take a wee bit of time to get back into the rhythm of playing international cricket," Mills said. "If it was a one-day World Cup I probably wouldn't be ready. It's only four overs but it's an intense sort of game. They (batsmen) come after you and you have to be on your toes with every ball.

"Hopefully I can cope with all that and repay the team with some good performances."

Mills was bracing for a high-scoring tournament on pitches that he felt would be of little assistance to fast bowlers. "You read all the books from the '80s and they're hard, fast bouncy wickets. That's a bygone area," he said. "I'm sure they'll be pretty flat and they'll bring the boundaries in a bit to make it a big spectacle for the fans to watch."

New Zealand have warm-up games against Ireland and West Indies, and then play last year's runners-up Sri Lanka in Georgetown next Friday.