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The allrounder Brendon Diamanti has emerged as one of the big winners after New Zealand picked their 15-man squad for the ICC World Twenty20 but there was no room for Jeetan Patel, Tim Southee or Chris Martin. Rather than taking the easier option of choosing a 30-man preliminary group like most teams, New Zealand have confirmed their final playing outfit.

It includes fringe allrounders Nathan McCullum and Ian Butler, along with the backup wicketkeeper Peter McGlashan as the selectors looked favourably on lower-order power-hitters. Jacob Orum was chosen subject to fitness as he continues to fight his way back from an injury-interrupted season.

Oram’s inclusion meant there was no room for the allrounder Grant Elliott, despite having a strong ODI summer. The selectors preferred Diamanti, whose only international experience came in a rain-shortened ODI against Australia. Diamanti had a productive State Shield season, averaging 47.60 with the bat at a strike-rate of 102.

“Brendon Diamanti is [a player] whose skills fit the short game format,” the chairman of selectors Glenn Turner said. “He’s a good striker of the ball an excellent fielder and has good skills with the ball.

“In selecting the side we have been particularly conscious of selecting players in the middle and lower order who are boundary hitters. We have retained aggressive but more orthodox batsman in the top order – and we’re looking for that extra aggression lower down the order as well.”

The team will travel to England in mid-May and will hold a training camp before the competition starts with warm-up matches beginning on June 1. In addition to the final squad, the selectors named a backup group of 15 players from whom replacements will be picked if necessary.

New Zealand squad Brendon McCullum, Martin Guptill, Jesse Ryder, Ross Taylor, Scott Styris, Neil Broom, Jacob Oram, James Franklin, Nathan McCullum, Daniel Vettori (capt), Ian Butler, Peter McGlashan, Kyle Mills, Brendon Diamanti, Iain O’Brien.

Backup players Peter Ingram, Shanan Stewart, Aaron Redmond, Craig Cumming, Peter Fulton, Jamie How, James Marshall, Gareth Hopkins, Grant Elliott, Ewen Thompson, Tim Southee, Michael Mason, Warren McSkimming, Chris Martin, Jeetan Patel.

Source:Cricket News

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