New Zealand fast bowler Kyle Mills has said that Daniel Vettori's new role as a national selector will not affect his relationship with his team-mates or disrupt team harmony. Vettori, the New Zealand captain, and coach Andy Moles were formally appointed to the selection panel last month, giving them extra responsibilities and power unlike any other captain-coach combination in world cricket.

Mills admitted that the hardest job for Vettori would be to inform a player if he is dropped for a particular match or series. Mills was speaking from personal experience; he was omitted for the Brisbane Test against Australia last year and asked to return home to play domestic cricket.

"I think that's the hardest thing as a captain," Mills told NZPA. "I've been given the word by Dan before on previous tours. In Australia, he came up and told me I'd been dropped from the Test side so he's made those gutsy conversations.

"At the end of the day I'd probably rather hear it from him than someone else. I've played a lot of cricket with him from a young age, he's a mate of mine and we still go for a beer."

Mills backed the decision to have two selectors on tour.

"Prior to yesterday we had no selectors on tour and I don't think that's quite right," Mills said. "I think there should be a selector on tour. Braces (John Bracewell, Moles' predecessor) as a selector worked well because he could see how hard guys were working in the nets and at training."

After being appointed, Vettori hoped that the players would take the news of their omission in an objective way.

"There are guys who are good friends, and one day I might have to sit them down and say that I was a part of the process that left them out," Vettori said. "I've had a heavy involvement prior to this appointment so hopefully my role within the team, and the way I'm perceived among the team, remains the same."

Former players Glenn Turner and Mark Greatbatch are the other two selectors on the panel.