Gaze, Mair return for first ever bilateral tour to Sri Lanka - Vincent Jones

The White Ferns squad to face Sri Lanka has been announced today by New Zealand Cricket. This will be the first time that the White Ferns have ever played a bilateral series in Sri Lanka.

The squad consists of: Sophie Devine ©, Suzie Bates, Bernadine Bezuidenhout, Eden Carson, Izzy Gaze, Maddy Green, Brooke Halliday, Fran Jonas, Leigh Kasperek, Melie Kerr, Rosemary Mair, Molly Penfold, Georgia Plimmer, Hannah Rowe, Lea Tahuhu. SQUAD CORRECTION: Leigh Kasperek replaces Jess Kerr after Kerr suffered a broken toe.

Rosemary Mair and Izzy Gaze have both been recalled, with Lauren Down (Family reasons) and Hayley Jensen (knee surgery) dropping out from the T20 World Cup Squad.

Rosemary Mair’s last performance in the T20I format was against England at the Commonwealth Games, and her last ODI appearance was at the World Cup vs Pakistan. Mair had a below-par Dream 11 Super Smash season, only taking 4 wickets and scoring 73 runs with the bat. She didn’t fare much better in the HBJ Shield taking 6 wickets and scoring 14 runs across eight games.

Izzy Gaze’s last performance in the T20I and ODI format was against West Indies in September/October last year. Gaze scored 49 runs across the Super Smash, but only appeared in four games due to representing Aotearoa New Zealand in the U-19 Women’s World Cup in South Africa earlier this year. Gaze also took a catch and a stumping in the Super Smash. She also made 39 runs and took a catch and a stumping in the HBJ Shield, but only played two matches due to the U-19 World Cup.

Coach Ben Sawyer stated that:

“We’re excited to have Rosemary and Izzy back, both players have worked hard on their respective games since their last international tours and we’re looking forward to seeing how they handle the challenges that this tour will bring.”

Kate Anderson, who had been involved in winter training plans, was unavailable for selection due to a finger injury.

In the New Zealand Cricket press release Sawyer mentioned that “Sri Lanka will pose challenges with unfamiliar conditions out in the middle, but also with the heat and humidity, so we will need to be able to adapt quickly both on and off the field.”