Wellington: Daryl Tuffey was on Tuesday named in New Zealand’s 15-man World Cup squad. The pacer thus made a comeback after two years.

Tuffey won a close battle for the vacancy in the squad left by the withdrawal of Kyle Mills, who is to undergo surgery on a knee injury.

Chris Martin and allrounder Andre Adams were seen as the other candidates for the position but Tuffey, a veteran of 76 one-day Internationals, won the place after convincing selectors of his fitness.

Tuffey last played a limited overs match for New Zealand against Australia in February 2005 after making his one-day debut five years earlier. Injuries have since kept him out of international cricket, but New Zealand coach John Bracewell said he was convinced Tuffey was physically sound.

The other 14 members of the squad, which will be captained by Stephen Fleming, were all involved in the recent tri-series against Australia and England.

THE SQUAD

Stephen Fleming (captain), Lou Vincent, Peter Fulton, Ross Taylor, Scott Styris, Jacob Oram, Craig McMillan, Brendon McCullum, Daniel Vettori, James Franklin, Jeetan Patel, Shane Bond, Mark Gillespie, Michael Mason, Daryl Tuffey. (AP)