Rutherford, Latham picked for T20 squad

New Zealand have picked batsmen Hamish Rutherford and Tom Latham, along with left-arm spinner Roneel Hira in the squad for the two Twenty20 matches against England next week.

New Zealand have excluded the injured trio of Daniel Vettori, Tim Southee and Grant Elliott, while Kane Williamson and the out-of-form wicketkeeper Luke Ronchi will also return to New Zealand.

Rutherford, who scored a century on his Test debut earlier this year, has played all three of his T20 matches against England during their tour to New Zealand in March earlier this year. Latham has played three T20s, while Hira has played 13 games for New Zealand.

Vettori underwent surgery on his Achilles tendon injury, after he struggled through the Champions Trophy, his first ODI tournament in two years. Vettori bowled 11 overs in two matches but looked in discomfort, even receiving saline injections for pain during the match against Sri Lanka.

Elliott suffered a calf injury prior to the Group A match against England and was replaced by Corey Anderson in the Champions Trophy squad. Southee, too, missed the match against England after he was ruled out due to an ankle injury.

The two T20 matches will be played on June 25 and June 27 at The Oval.

Squad: Brendon McCullum (capt), Corey Anderson, Doug Bracewell, Ian Butler, James Franklin, Martin Guptill, Roneel Hira, Tom Latham, Mitchell McClenaghan, Nathan McCullum, Kyle Mills, Colin Munro, Hamish Rutherford, Ross Taylor