Vettori to lead Black Caps in Twenty20; Fleming snubbed

Christchurch, Aug 9 (UNI) Long-standing New Zealand skipper Stephen Fleming got the snub as selectors crowned Daniel Vettori the Black Caps' captain for the upcoming Twenty20 World Cup in South Africa.

Amid speculation of the southpaw joining the Indian Cricket League (ICL), the move wasn't surprising for Fleming, who had given up the ODI captaincy following the Black Caps semi-final exit at the World Cup in the Caribbean in April.

Fleming holds the world record of most capped ODI captain -- 218 matches as of April 2007.

''Stephen Fleming has been omitted from the squad. This is the first opportunity for Daniel to captain the team abroad and we wanted to ensure that Daniel and the team were not looking to him for leadership,'' Kiwi coach John Bracewell said.

''We also thought it would be a good opportunity for Stephen to remain with Nottinghamshire to build towards the longer forms of the game,'' he added.

The 15-man squad includes Gareth Hopkins, Nathan McCullum -- brother of wicketkeeper Brendon -- and Bradley Scott.

''Gareth gets under the ball and hits it a long way,'' Bracewell said.

''With their complementary skills, we are not going to lose anything if both Brendon McCullum and Gareth play in the same match,'' the coach said.

New Zealand squad: Daniel Vettori (Capt), Shane Bond, Peter Fulton, Mark Gillespie, Gareth Hopkins (wicketkeeper), Chris Martin, Craig McMillan, Brendon McCullum (wicketkeeper), Nathan McCullum, Jacob Oram, Jeetan Patel, Bradley Scott, Scott Styris, Ross Taylor, Lou Vincent.

UNI