Styris to return for Essex T20s

New Zealand allrounder Scott Styris will return to Essex for next season's Friends Provident t20 campaign, subject to approval from the New Zealand Cricket Board, after re-signing with the county.

Styris is scheduled to be available for the duration of the tournament, including the quarter final and Finals Day. He did much to guide Essex towards the knockout stage of the competition last summer, although he didn't feature in any quarter final matches due to an international call-up.

Styris played a pivotal role for Essex in 2010 with 392 runs and 13 wickets, securing a couple of very tight wins along the way. In July, he snatched a victory over Sussex at Hove with 52 from 26 balls. Even more memorable was his effort a month earlier against Surrey at home, when he thrashed a whirlwind maiden FP t20 hundred, reaching the landmark from only 49 balls, to secure a win with just one ball to spare.

Styris, 35, played 29 Tests for New Zealand - the last of which was against South Africa in 2007-08 - but is now considered a limited-overs specialist, having played 169 one-day internationals and 28 Twenty20 internationals.