New Zealand chose seam bowler Kyle Mills ahead of James Franklin in their 14-man squad on Tuesday for the ICC Champions Trophy in England next month.

Coach John Bracewell told reporters that Mills offered more flexibility than left-arm paceman Franklin, who did well after being called into the squad following a spate of injuries on New Zealand's recent tour of England.

Mills was one of the players hit by injury and did not feature in the triangular one-day series which also involved West Indies, a competition the Kiwis won to move up to second place behind Australia in the world rankings.

Apart from Franklin, who was named on Tuesday in the New Zealand 'A' party to tour South Africa next month, the Champions Trophy squad contained no surprises.

Bracewell said: "These players have performed well during the past nine months.

"The nucleus of this squad plays well as a team and has the class required to continue winning at this level."

The Kiwis meet the United States (September 10) and Australia (September 16) in Pool A of the Champions Trophy.

Squad: Stephen Fleming (captain), Nathan Astle, Ian Butler, Chris Cairns, Chris Harris, Hamish Marshall, Brendan McCullum, Craig McMillan, Kyle Mills, Jacob Oram, Michael Papps, Scott Styris, Daryl Tuffey, Daniel Vettori.