Strauss to join New Zealand club

Andrew Strauss is set to play domestic cricket in New Zealand on a short-term contract with the Northern Knights ahead of England's tour there.

Strauss, 30, has suffered a dip in form over the past year and was dropped for England's current tour of Sri Lanka.

If Strauss's form improves he could join the England squad for the tour of New Zealand in February.

The left-hander is to feature in the side's State Shield and Twenty20 competitions in January and February.

Northern Knights are expected to announce the deal on Friday.

Strauss made a flying start to his Test career with five centuries in his first 11 games but he had a torrid time during the Ashes series in Australia and his plight continued at the World Cup in the Caribbean earlier this year.

But despite having averaged only 27 in Test cricket in the last year, without making a century, Strauss was handed a central contract by the England and Wales Cricket Board in September.

And with New Zealand's grassier pitches and seam-oriented bowling expected to better suit Strauss than the slow surfaces in Sri Lanka, the Middlesex opener is expected to return to the England set-up.

England play three Tests, five one-day internationals and a Twenty20 international in February and March.

Source: BBC Sport