New Zealand have turned to fresh faces for Zimbabwe’s short white-ball tour later this month, naming uncapped pair Nensi Patel and Kayley Knight while confirming that Suzie Bates, Sophie Devine and Lea Tahuhu will all be absent.
Patel, 23, and Knight, 22, have been rewarded after strong Super Smash campaigns. Patel – a tidy off-spinner who also bats in the middle order – finished as Northern Brave’s leading run-scorer and shared second spot on the wicket list with Knight. The right-arm seamer snagged ten wickets at 6.16 an over and, having impressed at the Under-19 T20 World Cup, now finds herself in the senior squad, albeit for the T20Is only.
The omissions are mostly injury-related. Bates (quadricep) and off-spinner Eden Carson (elbow) were “not considered for selection”, while Tahuhu has been left out of the T20Is for what selectors called “physical preparation planning” ahead of June’s T20 World Cup. Devine, on a casual NZC deal, simply wasn’t available for this series.
Amelia Kerr will captain for the first time, an appointment most observers expected, yet it still marks a significant moment. Her side will play three T20Is in Hamilton from 25 February, followed by three ICC Women’s Championship ODIs in Dunedin starting 5 March – the first women’s internationals between the two countries.
The T20 squad includes wicketkeeper-batter Polly Inglis, with Molly Penfold – another quick – coming in for the 50-over matches. Penfold joins Bree Illing, Jess Kerr and Rosemary Mair in a four-pronged pace group. Left-hander Emma McLeod is also ODI-only, reinforcing the top order.
For Patel, once centrally contracted in 2022-23 but since operating on the fringes, the call-up is a timely boost. Knight sounds similarly upbeat; she told NZC media earlier this week that representing her country “has been the dream since I first picked up a ball”. Expect both to feature at some stage, with selectors clearly keen to expand the depth chart before a crowded winter.
Squad: Flora Devonshire, Izzy Gaze, Maddy Green, Brooke Halliday, Bree Illing, Polly Inglis (T20Is), Jess Kerr, Amelia Kerr (capt), Kayley Knight (T20Is), Emma McLeod (ODIs), Rosemary Mair, Nensi Patel, Molly Penfold (ODIs), Georgia Plimmer, Izzy Sharp.
It may not be the line-up many envisaged six months ago, yet with a World Cup looming, New Zealand are happy to take a calculated look at tomorrow’s talent today.
