With the ICC Women’s Under-19 World Cup approaching, cricket boards are ramping up their preparations by hosting a series of matches to fine-tune their squads for the prestigious tournament. New Zealand Cricket (NZC) is no exception, as they are set to showcase their emerging female talent in Australia later this month, as part of their build-up for the World Cup in Malaysia, the mega event will feature 16 teams, is scheduled to begin on January 18, 2025, with the final taking place on February 2.
New Zealand are in Group C which consists of hosts of the previous edition, South Africa; Samoa, who will play their first edition and a qualifier from Africa.
As part of their preparations, the New Zealand Under-19 team will participate in a Tri-Series against Sri Lanka and Australia in Brisbane and the Gold Coast. This series serves as a vital component of their World Cup campaign, with the tour kicking off on September 20, 2024. It will consist of both T20 and 50-over matches, giving the team valuable exposure to different formats and competitive conditions against top-tier opponents.
NZC’s Head of Women’s High Performance, Liz Green, highlighted the importance of the tour, noting, “This is a good chance to expose some of our best young players to international cricket and test them against strong Australian and Sri Lankan sides.”
She also emphasized the growing opportunities for players, adding, “We’re exposing players to more and more opportunities in New Zealand and around the world, and it’s encouraging to see so many of this squad also getting opportunities with their Major Associations as contracted players.”
Speaking to the long-term goals, Green pointed out, “This is part of White Ferns succession planning as we look to the future with players we consider to have high potential.”
The Tri-Series squad has been selected from the broader Under-19 Winter Training Squad, featuring standout players like batter Izzy Sharp and spinner Abigail Hotton.
Although Sharp and Hotton are not eligible for the World Cup due to age restrictions, their inclusion reflects NZC’s commitment to developing their most promising players by providing them with challenging international competition. Alongside Sharp and Hotton, the squad includes five players with previous Under-19 World Cup experience, such as Kate Chandler, Kate Irwin, Louisa Kotkamp, Emma McLeod, and Tash Wakelin, all of whom represented New Zealand at the 2023 Under-19 Women’s T20 World Cup in South Africa.
The New Zealand Development Women’s squad is a mix of talent from across the country. Elizabeth Buchanan and Sophie Court hail from Auckland, while Kate Chandler represents Wellington. Canterbury contributes Abigail Hotton, Darcy-Rose Prasad, Hannah Wallace, and Izzy Sharp, with further support from Auckland’s Kate Irwin, Rishika Jaswal, and Anika Todd. Louisa Kotkamp comes from Otago, and Emma McLeod and Abby Treder represent Central Districts. The squad is rounded out by Tash Wakelin and Eve Wolland from Northern Districts, making it a well-balanced and diverse group of players.
Complete squad for the Tri-Series:
Elizabeth Buchanan, Kate Chandler, Sophie Court, Abigail Hotton, Kate Irwin, Rishika Jaswal, Louisa Kotkamp, Emma McLeod, Darcy-Rose Prasad, Izzy Sharp, Anika Todd, Abby Treder, Tash Wakelin, Hannah Wallace, Eve Wolland
The squad is set to leave for Australia on Monday, with their first game being a T20 against Australia’s Under-19 team in Brisbane on September 19. Live scoring for all matches will be available on nzc.nz
During the Tri-Series, New Zealand Development Women will play several key matches. They will open against Australia U19 Women on Thursday, 19th September, at Alan Pettigrew Oval in Brisbane, followed by a match against Sri Lanka U19 Women on Friday, 20th September, at the same venue. Their next clash will be against Australia U19 Women on Tuesday, 24th September, at Bill Pippen Oval, Gold Coast, before taking on Sri Lanka U19 Women again on Thursday, 26th September, at the same location.
In the 50-over format, New Zealand Development Women will face Sri Lanka U19 Women on Tuesday, 1st October, at Alan Pettigrew Oval in Brisbane, and will wrap up their tour with a final match against Australia U19 Women on Wednesday, 2nd October, at Ian Healy Oval, Brisbane.