Seamer Rosemary Mair and batter Brooke Halliday have returned to New Zealand's squad for five T20Is and three ODIs against England at home. Offspinner Leigh Kasperek has been included for the last two T20Is.

The tour starts with two warm-up T20s - on March 10 and 12 - in Queenstown, with the first T20I to be played on March 19 in Dunedin. Three standby players for the first T20I will be named closer to the series, as cover for Amelia Kerr (Mumbai Indians), Sophie Devine (Royal Challengers Bangalore), or Lea Tahuhu (Gujarat Giants) in case any of them is unavailable due to their commitments in the WPL, which ends on March 17.

Mair and Kasperek have been rewarded for their performances in the Super Smash, New Zealand's domestic T20 tournament. Kasperek played a key role in Wellington's winning campaign by picking up 17 wickets, the second-most in the competition, at an economy of 5.38.

Mair, whose last international appearance was in August 2022, was the fourth-highest wicket-taker with 14 scalps. Her haul included 4 for 5 in the final even though her side, Central Districts, lost the rain-hit game by one run.

Halliday was out with a foot injury, which saw her miss the T20I and ODI series against Pakistan in December. She returned midway through the Super Smash, and scored 108 in a List A game against Canterbury on Sunday.

"Rosemary has been an integral part of the Central Hinds side this summer and has stepped up with her leadership and extra pace, which has been pleasing," New Zealand head coach Ben Sawyer said. "We identified key areas of her game to work on post the tour of Sri Lanka and we've been impressed with the way she has gone away and worked hard on implementing these into her game.

"The results speak for themselves and Rosemary's performance in the Super Smash Grand Final showed us that she's ready for another opportunity.

"Leigh has been really impressive with her performances and leadership for the Wellington Blaze this summer. She has been consistent across both the T20 and 50-over campaigns for Wellington and she continues to be part of our planning for the ICC T20 World Cup in Bangladesh."

In the combined 15-member roster for both series, Georgia Plimmer has been picked only for ODIs, while Eden Carson is in for the first three T20Is. Carson will also feature for New Zealand A in the corresponding T20 and 50-over series against England A. Hayley Jensen, who is returning from knee surgery, will also be part of the A series. The full New Zealand A squad will be named on Wednesday.

New Zealand Women's squad for England series

Sophie Devine (capt), Suzie Bates, Bernadine Bezuidenhout (wk), Izzy Gaze (wk), Maddy Green, Brooke Halliday, Fran Jonas, Amelia Kerr, Jess Kerr, Rosemary Mair, Hannah Rowe, Lea Tahuhu, Eden Carson (first three T20Is), Leigh Kasperek (last two T20Is), Georgia Plimmer (only ODIs)

Source:
courtesy of ESPN

by ESPNcricinfo staff

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