On Thursday, New Zealand Cricket announced a 15-member squad for the upcoming ICC Women’s World Cup that will be played from March 4 to April 3 in New Zealand. Sophie Devine will lead the team with Amy Satterthwaite as her deputy. Apart from the usual suspects, one key player to miss out is White Ferns’ ace off-spinner Leigh Kasperek.
New Zealand Squad for Women’s World Cup 2022:
Sophie Devine (captain, Amy Satterthwaite (vice-captain), Suzie Bates, Lauren Down, Maddy Green, Brooke Halliday, Hayley Jensen, Fran Jonas, Jess Kerr, Amelia Kerr, Frances Mackay, Rosemary Mair, Katey Martin, Hannah Rowe, Lea Tahuhu
Host NZ have announced their 15 members World Cup Squad. #CWC22 | @WHITE_FERNS pic.twitter.com/UoQqZrqbiI
— Female Cricket (@imfemalecricket) February 3, 2022
Sophie Devine:
The all-rounder will captain the White Ferns for the home World Cup. She is a right-handed batter and a right-arm seamer. She has featured in 116 ODIs, scored 2806 runs in 103 innings, and picked up 82 wickets in 97 innings. She took over the captaincy in 2020 and since then has led the side in 14 ODIs.
Amy Satterthwaite:
The left-handed top-order bat will be the vice-captain of White Ferns for the home World Cup. She is a prolific batter for New Zealand having mustered 4298 ODIs runs in 127 innings, which is the second-highest for the team. Apart from her batting, she can roll her arm over to bowl a bit of off-spin. She has 46 ODI wickets in 63 innings.
Suzie Bates:
This right-handed batter is the top run-getter for New Zealand with 4605 runs in 124 ODI innings. She has 10 ODI centuries, which is the highest for the White Ferns. Apart from her batting, she is more than a handy right-arm seamer. She has 75 ODI wickets in 98 innings.
Meet our @cricketworldcup Squad 🗣 #CWC22 #MakeSomeNoise pic.twitter.com/B1PQFRMR4F
— WHITE FERNS (@WHITE_FERNS) February 2, 2022
Lauren Down:
She is a right-handed batter, having made her international debut for New Zealand in 2018. Since then she has played 19 ODIs and scored 253 runs, including one-half century and the best score of 90.
Maddy Green:
She is a solid right-handed middle-order batter. She has featured in 42 ODIs and registered 708 runs in 37 innings, including one century and a couple of half-centuries. She will be the key to New Zealand’s middle-order batting. Apart from her batting, she is an occasional right-arm-off spinner.
Brooke Halliday:
She is a left-handed batter and an occasional right-arm seamer. With the bat, the southpaw has 279 runs to her name, including a couple of half-centuries. With the ball, she has two ODI wickets in three innings.
Hayley Jensen:
She is a right-arm seamer and a right-handed batter. She has featured in 23 ODIs and picked up 14 wickets in 22 innings. With the bat she has mustered 245 runs in 20 innings, including the one-half century.
Fran Jonas:
The 17-year old has found a place in the World Cup squad. She has just played a couple of ODIs, having made her international debut in 2021. Though she has not accounted for any international wickets, being a left-arm spinner could have made a strong case for her selection in the World Cup squad. However, it is important to note that she has been a successful T20I bowler and holds the record for being the joint-fastest to 50 T20I wickets.
Jess Kerr:
She is a right-arm seamer who is still new to international cricket having made her debut in 2020. Since then she has played 10 ODIs and picked up as many wickets, including the best of 3-42. She is an economical bowler, with an economy rate of under five.
Amelia Kerr:
She is one of the best all-rounders in the world of women’s ODI cricket. She is one of the three women cricketers to score atleast a half-century and pick up five wickets in the same ODI innings. She also has an ODI double century to her name. She is a right-handed batter and a right-arm leg spinner. She has scored 682 runs and picked up 60 wickets in 41 ODIs that she has played so far.
Frances Mackay:
She is a right-handed opening batter and a right-arm-off spinner. Since her international debut in 2011, she has played just 21 ODIs for White Ferns. She has mustered 243 runs and accounted for 13 wickets. With a star-studded batting line-up, it will be interesting to see how the White Ferns use Mackay.
Rosemary Mair:
She is a right-arm speedster, who made her international debut in 2019. She has featured in 11 ODIs and accounted for four wickets. She is still new in the international arena and will look to learn from this opportunity that she has received being a part of the White Ferns’ World Cup campaign.
Katey Martin:
She is a right-handed batter and a wicket-keeper. She has been one of the senior-most members of the side having been around since 2003. She has played 91 ODIs and scored 1568 runs, including seven half-centuries. She will be an important middle order batter. Behind the stumps, she has accounted for 66 ODI dismissals.
Hannah Rowe:
She is a young fast bowler, who made her international debut for White Ferns in 2015. Since then she has featured in 30 ODIs and scalped 30 wickets, including the best of 4-47. She has an economy rate of under five and an average of 27.96.
Lea Tahuhu:
In the present White Ferns’ side she is the joint leading wicket-taker alongside Sophie Devine in WODI cricket with 82 wickets in 74 innings. She is an experienced right arm seamer having been around at the international level since 2011. She will lead the White Ferns’ bowling attack.
So far, squads for Australia, Bangladesh and India for the World Cup have been announced.
I am a former cricketer having represented Mumbai University at All India University level. I was a part of MCA probables for the U-19 and U-23 age group. I have been an avid cricket writer for the last five years. Currently I am pursuing my Ph.D from IIT Bombay.
