New Zealand have named a 15-member strong White Ferns ODI squad for their upcoming white-ball tour of England from May 10 to 25, 2026, blending youthful promise with seasoned nous ahead of the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2026 on home soil for their hosts.
Captain Amelia Kerr leads the charge in a series featuring three ODIs followed by three T20Is, serving as crucial preparation for the 10th edition of the tournament in England and Wales from June 12 to July 5, where the defending champions from the 2024 Dubai final aim to reclaim glory after their 32-run triumph over Laura Wolvaardt’s South Africa on 20th October.
Marking a milestone, spin-bowling all-rounder Flora Devonshire, fellow spinner Nensi Patel, and batters Emma McLeod and Izzy Sharp earns their first senior overseas tours. All in their early 20s, the quartet shone in New Zealand’s dominant home summer, starring in the 3-0 whitewashes of Zimbabwe in February-March and series wins over South Africa (4-1 T20Is, 2-1 ODIs) in March-April.
Devonshire, a left-armer, had been part of the 2025 ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup squad but missed out due to a training finger injury; she made her ODI debut against South Africa in Christchurch this March.
Amelia Kerr, elevated to full-time White Ferns white-ball skipper in February 2026, heads a squad rich in experience with stalwarts Suzie Bates, Maddy Green, and Brooke Halliday. Bates, a cornerstone of New Zealand cricket, will draw the curtain on her illustrious 181-match ODI career during the tour, paving the way for her international retirement post the upcoming T20 World Cup, as announced last week.
In the 2024 edition, Bates tied with Georgia Plimmer as New Zealand’s joint-highest run-scorer, amassing 150 runs across six innings at a strike rate of 93.16 and an average of 25.
White Ferns head coach Ben Sawyer hailed the selection as “well-balanced,” emphasising its mix of fresh talent and reliability. “We’ve got some exciting young talent in this squad with the likes of Emma, Izzy, Nensi, and Flora, alongside our core group of seasoned campaigners,” Sawyer said. “Our younger players are finding their feet in international cricket, but they’ve proved they have what it takes to succeed at this level.”
Ben Sawyer eyes the tour as a stern test against the ICC Women’s ODI World Cup semi-finalists. “England is a tough side to beat in their home conditions, so it’s a good chance to test ourselves. We’ve made some great gains as a group recently and are coming off the back of a successful home summer, so hopefully that gives the team a lot of confidence heading into this series.”
White Ferns ODI Squad for England Tour
Amelia Kerr (C), Suzie Bates, Flora Devonshire, Issy Gaze, Maddy Green, Brooke Halliday, Bree Illing, Polly Inglis, Jess Kerr, Emma McLeod, Rosemary Mair, Nensi Patel, Molly Penfold, Georgia Plimmer, Izzy Sharp
The squad jets off later this week for a warm-up against the ECB Development XI on May 6, ahead of the ODI opener in Durham, with subsequent matches in Northampton and Cardiff. T20I and World Cup squads drop this Wednesday, April 29, setting the stage for a summer where Bates bows out, and New Zealand chase another global crown.
(Quotes sourced from New Zealand Cricket)
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