KEY POINTS:
Peter Fulton will bat at No 3 for the Black Caps in their opening match at Twenty20 cricket World Cup against Kenya in Durban tonight.
Early intentions had been to utilise the hitting power of Jacob Oram at first drop, but having almost been knocked out by a Brett Lee bouncer in a warmup against Australia on Saturday, New Zealand coach John Bracewell decided to move the big lefthander back down the order.
"Fulton was in very good touch against the West Indies (in a warmup match ) on Sunday, top scoring with 51, so by putting him up to No 3 means we can take some pressure off Jake (Oram)," Bracewell said.
"Brendon McCullum will both open and keep wickets. This gives us tremendous firepower right through the middle order with Dan Vettori probably coming in at No 8."
The 12th man will be decided later.
New Zealand (from): Daniel Vettori, Lou Vincent, Brendon McCullum, Peter Fulton, Ross Taylor, Jacob Oram, Craig McMillan, Scott Styris, Shane Bond, Jeetan Patel, Mark Gillespie, Chris Martin.
- NZPA
