Tuffey misses Twenty20 selection

Daryl Tuffey's hopes of returning from injury at the Twenty20 World Championship are over after he was not selected in New Zealand's preliminary 30-man squad. Kyle Mills also missed out as he continues to recover from a knee problem while Chris Harris, who has not played for New Zealand since 2004-05, was included.

Tuffey was the only member of the original World Cup squad who was not in the extended group. He hurt his shoulder in the Caribbean and was aiming to be ready for the Twenty20 tournament in South Africa in September.

"After the numerous injury problems he has had, the selectors would like to see Daryl Tuffey play some competitive cricket before being considered for the Blackcaps again," Richard Hadlee, the selection manager, said. "Daryl has opted to play club cricket in Sydney under the guidance of Steve Rixon during late September and October."

Mills required surgery after having trouble with a knee tendon during the CB Series in Australia and there were reports he would be out of action for 12 months. Hadlee said there was no way Mills could have been included. "The selectors did not consider Kyle after medical advice," he said. "He is not yet ready to return to playing, and has had no cricket for five months."

Michael Papps, Mathew Sinclair and Mills were the only three contracted New Zealand players left out of the 30-man squad. Seven players without international experience were chosen, including Nathan McCullum, the allrounder and brother of Brendon, and James McMillan, the fast bowler and cousin of Craig.

The familial theme continued with the selection of the uncapped Aaron Redmond, the batsman and son of the former Test player Rodney Redmond. Also hoping for an international debut will be the South African-born allrounder Grant Elliott, the batsman Neil Broom, the left-arm fast bowler Bradley Scott and the medium-pace bowler Warren McSkimming.

Perhaps the biggest surprise was the inclusion of Harris, a veteran of 250 ODIs who would make his Twenty20 international debut aged 37 if selected. Although he has not played for his country in nearly three years, Harris had a strong domestic season in 2006-07 and was the only man to score a century in the state Twenty20 competition last summer.

Preliminary 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.