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Franklin and Butler join Twenty20 squad

New Zealand have rung the changes ahead of their Twenty20 match against Australia, bringing in four players who have not been part of the Chappell-Hadlee Series

Cricinfo staff
12-Feb-2009

James Franklin is back in the mix for New Zealand © AFP
 
New Zealand have rung the changes ahead of their Twenty20 match against Australia, bringing in four players who have not been part of the Chappell-Hadlee Series. Their 13-man squad for the one-off match in Sydney on Sunday includes the allrounders James Franklin, Nathan McCullum and Ian Butler and the backup wicketkeeper Peter McGlashan.
Jeetan Patel, Peter Fulton, Gareth Hopkins, Craig Cumming, Trent Boult and Brendon Diamanti will head home after Friday's final one-day international and will not be part of the Twenty20 setup. The chairman of selectors Glenn Turner said they had decided to bring in multi-skilled players who they felt were well suited to the shorter format.
"James Franklin has been scoring very well in the State Twenty20 competition - and at a very good strike rate," Turner said. "He comes in primarily as a batting allrounder. Ian Butler will play as a bowling allrounder with his brisk medium pace, and an ability to hit big at the death.
"Nathan McCullum has also been in good form and is a valuable allrounder. He is well suited to this form of the game with his offspin and aggressive batting. Peter McGlashan is a good improviser with the bat in the middle order, and also gives us cover for Brendon McCullum as wicketkeeper."
Daniel Vettori, the New Zealand captain, was impressed by the return of Butler, who has reinvented himself since being dropped from the national team in 2004. "It's Mark Richardson-esque, being able to turn yourself around from one part of the game to be able to bat six or seven and still bowl a bit," Vettori said. "I'm pretty excited for him and he's a pretty excitable guy. He'll be champing at the bit when he gets here, but it's nice to see a player not give up and put so much work and effort in and be able to make it back."
At the time of his exit Butler was called "pea-hearted" by Brendon Bracewell, the brother of the then-coach John, but Vettori said he had a strong attitude. "He's probably one of the biggest triers I've ever met," Vettori said. "He's relentless in all he does on and off the park."
While New Zealand have kept their key players, Australia have chosen to rest the captain Ricky Ponting and Michael Hussey for Sunday's game. The Australians depart for their Test tour of South Africa the following day, while New Zealand head home to prepare for their series against India.
New Zealand squad Brendon McCullum (wk), Martin Guptill, Ross Taylor, Grant Elliott, Neil Broom, Nathan McCullum, Peter McGlashan (wk), James Franklin, Kyle Mills, Daniel Vettori (capt), Tim Southee, Ian Butler, Iain O'Brien.