Image Credit- NZC
For their three ODIs
and five T20Is at home against England, seamer Rosemary Mair and batsman Brooke
Halliday have rejoined the New Zealand team. Leigh Kasperek, an offspinner, has
played in the last two Twenty20 Internationals.
Two warm-up Twenty20 matches will take place in Queenstown on March 10 and 12,
followed by the first Twenty20I match in Dunedin on March 19. In the event that
any of the three standby players—Amelia Kerr of the Mumbai Indians, Sophie
Devine of the Royal Challengers Bangalore, or Lea Tahuhu of the Gujarat
Giants—are unable to play because of WPL obligations, which conclude on March
17—three backup players will be named closer to the start of the Twenty20
International series.
Rewarding
performances in New Zealand’s local T20 tournament, the Super Smash, were Mair
and Kasperek. Kasperek took the second-most wickets in the competition with an
economy of 5.38, which was crucial to Wellington’s winning effort.
With 14 wickets, Mair—whose last outing for her country was in August 2022—was
the fourth-highest wicket-taker. Despite the fact that her team, Central
Districts, lost the game due to rain by one run, she managed to score four runs
in the final.
Due to a foot ailment, Halliday was unable to play in the December T20I and ODI
series against Pakistan. She came back in the middle of the Super Smash, and on
Sunday, she scored 108 against Canterbury in a List A match.
“Rosemary has
been an integral part of the Central Hinds side this summer and has stepped up
with her leadership and extra pace, which has been pleasing,” New Zealand
head coach Ben Sawyer said. “We identified key areas of her game to work
on post the tour of Sri Lanka and we’ve been impressed with the way she has
gone away and worked hard on implementing these into her game.
“The results speak for themselves and Rosemary’s performance in the Super
Smash Grand Final showed us that she’s ready for another opportunity.
“Leigh has been really impressive with her performances and leadership for
the Wellington Blaze this summer. She has been consistent across both the T20
and 50-over campaigns for Wellington and she continues to be part of our
planning for the ICC T20 World Cup in Bangladesh.”