Cricket : BLACKCAPS squad named for Twenty20 games

The BLACKCAPS squad for the two upcoming Twenty20 games against the West Indies has been announced today. The squad is:

Daniel Vettori (Captain)
Daniel Flynn
James Franklin
Mark Gillespie
Brendon McCullum
Kyle Mills
Jacob Oram
Jeetan Patel
Jesse Ryder
Tim Southee
Scott Styris
Ross Taylor
Ewen Thompson

Head of the selection panel, Glenn Turner, said the side had been picked specifically for Twenty20 conditions. “This is an exciting squad of players we believe will perform well in this form of the game,” he said.

Central Districts’ left-arm bowler Ewen Thompson gets his first BLACKCAPS call-up. “Thompson makes the side on the strength of his outstanding Twenty20 statistics – 16 wickets at an average of 17 and an economy rate of 6.97. He’s also top of the MVP rankings in the State Championship right now.

“Another young player ideally suited to the game is Tim Southee. He’s already been one of our outstanding one day bowlers and a good lower order hitter.”

Jacob Oram has been selected primarily as a batsman, but would be considered for bowling depending on his fitness, said Turner.

Turner said some of the current test side were a little unlucky to miss out. “But this squad is about horses for courses. A Twenty20 side has a different look from a test side – it’s a different game and has different requirements.

"We haven’t really played a lot of Twenty20 and we’re still gaining experience. If we’re going to pick up our game we need a good depth of players who can deliver in this arena.”

The first Twenty20 is at Eden Park, Auckland on Friday 26 December. The second is at Seddon Park, Hamilton on Sunday 28 December.