The return of the 29-year-old batter Lauren Down and a maiden call-up to the 28-year-old wicket-keeper batter Polly Inglis forms the highlight as New Zealand announce the contract list for the upcoming 2024-25 season.
The 29-year-old batter Lauren Down returns to the squad after taking a maternity break from cricket. She welcomed her princess daughter, Ruby into this world in January, earlier this year. Just five months after giving birth to her daughter she is gearing up for her return to international cricket for the White Ferns. She was earlier named in the squad for their upcoming white-ball tour to England.
The 29-year-old batter Lauren Down last played for New Zealand in a ICC Women’s T20 World Cup warm-up match on 8th February 2023 against England at Cape Town and was a part of the White Ferns squad in the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup. She has been out of action since then, courtesy of a maternity break for becoming a first time mother.
The 28-year-old wicket-keeper batter Polly Margot Inglis has earned a maiden call-up to the White Ferns contract. She represents Otago Sparks at the domestic level. She had a sensational season with the bat in the 2023/24 edition of the New Zealand Cricket Women’s One Day competition. She was the leading run-scorer for her side and the 2nd highest run-scorer of the tournament with 324 runs at a strike rate of 78.64, and an impressive average of 54 in 10 innings. Her tally of runs included a couple of half-centuries.
Her best performance with the bat for Otago came on 25th November 2023 against Canterbury when she scored (73 off 110 balls) with the bat. She played a crucial role in helping her side clinch a comprehensive 88-run victory against Canterbury. She was then included in the T20 and the One Day series. She had a decent performance with the bat scoring 27 runs in the T20 series and scoring 103 runs in the One Day series against England A.
“We’ve landed on a strong list of 17 names that we think are going to play an important part over the next 12 months. It’s a familiar group made up of experienced and younger players that we believe are going to drive this team forward. I’m excited about the way this group are progressing together and what they can achieve over the next year.” The White Ferns head coach Ben Sawyer speaks about putting together a strong group of players with a proper mix of experience and youth for the upcoming year.
New Zealand Women’s Central Contract (2024-2025)
Suzie Bates, Eden Carson, Sophie Devine, Lauren Down, Izzy Gaze, Maddy Green, Brooke Halliday, Polly Inglis, Hayley Jensen, Fran Jonas, Jess Kerr, Melie Kerr, Rosemary Mair, Molly Penfold, Georgia Plimmer, Hannah Rowe, and Lea Tahuhu.
The upcoming series against England will include a three-match ODI series followed by a five-match T20I series. The series will commence on 26th June 2024 and will conclude on 17th July 2024.
(Quotes sourced from New Zealand Cricket Press Release)
