On February 3, 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.
Squad: 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
Player Profile
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 121 ODIs, scored 2918 runs in 108 innings and picked up 86 wickets in 102 innings. She took over the captaincy in 2020 and since then has led the side in 18 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 4464 ODIs runs in 132 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 47 ODI wickets in 64 innings.
Suzie Bates:
This right handed batter is the top run getter for New Zealand with 4790 runs in 129 ODI innings. She has 11 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.
Lauren Down:
She is a right handed batter, having made her international debut for New Zealand in 2018. Since then she has played 22 ODIs and scored 352 runs, including two half centuries and the best score of 90.
Maddy Green:
She is a solid right handed middle order batter. She has featured in 45 ODIs and registered 801 runs in 40 innings, including one century and three 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 298 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 27 ODIs and picked up 20 wickets in 26 innings. With the bat she has mustered 285 runs in 23 innings, including one half century.
Fran Jonas:
The 17-year old has found a place in the World Cup squad. She has played four ODIs, having made her international debut in 2021. She has picked up two wickets so far.
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 13 ODIs and picked up 17 wickets, including the best of 4-35. She is an economical bowler, with an economy rate of under four and a half runs per over.
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 1039 runs and picked up 67 wickets in 46 ODIs that she has played so far.
Frances Mackay:
She is a right handed opening batter and a right arm off spinner. She can also bat in the middle order. Since her international debut in 2011, she has played 24 ODIs for White Ferns. She has mustered 282 runs and accounted for 16 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 15 ODIs and accounted for seven 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 96 ODIs and scored 1644 runs, including seven half centuries. She will be an important middle order batter. Behind the stumps, she has accounted for 70 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 34 ODIs and scalped as many wickets, including the best of 4-47. She has an economy rate of under four and a half runs per over and an average of 28.14.
Lea Tahuhu:
In the present White Ferns’ side she is the second-highest wicket-taker behind Sophie Devine in WODI cricket with 83 wickets in 76 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.
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.