AUCKLAND, July 11: New Zealand paceman Kyle Mills was omitted from preliminary squad for the Twenty20 World Championship as he recovers from a serious knee injury. Mills had surgery to repair a patella tendon in February and not played since.

“The selectors did not consider Mills after the medical advice,” said selection manager Sir Richard Hadlee.

The 30-man squad includes seven players without international experience, but veteran Chris Harris earned a recall. Harris, 37, has not played for the international side for almost three years.

The squad will be trimmed to 15 and finalised when the selectors meet on Aug 11. The Blackcaps are in Group C for the tournament to be held in South Africa in September, alongside Kenya and Sri Lanka.

New Zealand squad: Andre Adams, Shane Bond, Neil Broom, Grant Elliott, Stephen Fleming, James Franklin, Peter Fulton, Mark Gillespie, Chris Harris, Paul Hitchcock, Gareth Hopkins, Jamie How, James Marshall, Chris Martin, Michael Mason, Brendon McCullum, Nathan McCullum, Peter McGlashan, Craig McMillan, James McMillan, Warren McSkimming, Iain O’Brien, Jacob Oram, Jeetan Patel, Aaron Redmond, Bradley Scott, Scott Styris, Ross Taylor, Daniel Vettori, Lou Vincent.—Agencies