LONDON (Kashmir English): New Zealand has announced the Women’s T20 World Cup squad with retiring cricket greats Sophie Devine, Suzie Bates and Lea Tahuhu named in the White Ferns’ team for their “final mission” of defending the title.
Devine, Bates and Tahuhu had all announced they would retire after the World Cup, which takes place in England and Wales in June-July this year.
The 15-strong squad will be led by star all-rounder Amelia Kerr and include 10 players who won the title in Dubai in 2024, beating South Africa in the final.
“To have our three most senior players all finishing their careers at the same tournament is a rare and special occasion,” coach Ben Sawyer said.
“All three have had distinguished careers in their own right and given so much to this team and the game in general.” Sawyer called the tournament their “final mission”.
New Zealand were shock winners in 2024 but it all happened without New Zealand facing Australia or England, viewed by most as the top two teams in women’s cricket.
Australia were stunned by South Africa while England were edged out by the West Indies.
The White Ferns beat India in the semi-final and then South Africa in the final to win the title.
Kerr was the tournament star taking 15 wickets and scoring 135 runs.
According to the New Zealand coach, the team only got stronger since 2024, having won seven of their last eight T20 matches. Ahead of 2024, the White Ferns had lost 11 T20 matches in a row.
“I believe we’ve landed on a well-balanced squad that features a mix of experience and exciting young talent,” Sawyer said.
“We’ve worked really hard over the past 12 months to develop our batting depth in particular, which we’ve seen bear fruit in our recent home series against South Africa and Zimbabwe.”
New Zealand will play the West Indies, Sri Lanka, Ireland, Scotland and England in their group.
New Zealand squad for Women’s T20 World Cup
Amelia Kerr (capt.), Suzie Bates, Sophie Devine, Flora Devonshire, Izzy Gaze, Maddy Green, Brooke Halliday, Bree Illing, Polly Inglis, Jess Kerr, Rosemary Mair, Nensi Patel, Georgia Plimmer, Izzy Sharp, Lea Tahuhu.
