New Zealand Cricket has announced details of the TelstraClear Black Caps side that will defend the ICC Champions Trophy in Sri Lanka next month. New Zealand is the current holder of the ICC KnockOut Trophy, the predecessor to the ICC Champions Trophy, which it won in defeating India by four wickets in a thrilling final in Kenya, two years ago.

Stephen Fleming, the victorious skipper from that campaign, retains the captaincy for Sri Lanka to lead a 14-man squad in defence of the title. Fleming, Nathan Astle, Chris Harris and Scott Styris remain from that winning side, forming an experienced nucleus for the title defence.

The full New Zealand squad is:

Stephen Fleming (captain), Nathan Astle, Shane Bond, Chris Harris Paul Hitchcock, Kyle Mills, Chris Nevin, Jacob Oram, Mathew Sinclair, Scott Styris, Glen Sulzberger, Daryl Tuffey, Daniel Vettori, Lou Vincent.

Preparing for the ICC Champions Trophy, a 20-man squad will travel to Sydney on August 31st for an eight-day training camp. During that time they will play four practice matches, two against New South Wales and two against Tasmania.

In Sri Lanka, the TelstraClear Black Caps will have a week's preparation during which the team will play one, or two, practice matches against teams from other Pools. Both New Zealand's Pool 1 competitive matches will be day games at the SSC Stadium in Colombo, where it meets Australia on September 15th and Bangladesh on September 23rd.

ICC media contact:

Mark Harrison
ICC Communications Manager
Tel: + 44 (0) 207 266 7935
Mobile: + 44 (0) 787 944 1891
Email: mark.harrison@icc-cricket.com

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