NZ name star trio for T20 World Cup defence

Retiring New Zealand cricket greats Sophie Devine, Suzie Bates and Lea Tahuhu were named Wednesday in the White Ferns’ Women’s T20 World Cup squad for their “final mission” of defending the title.

The 15-strong squad is led by star all-rounder Amelia Kerr and features 10 players who won the title in Dubai in 2024, beating South Africa in the final.

Devine, Bates and Tahuhu had all announced they would retire after the World Cup, which takes place in England and Wales in June-July.

“To have our three most senior players all finishing their careers at the same tournament is a rare and special occasion,” coach Ben Sawyer said.

“All three have had distinguished careers in their own right and given so much to this team and the game in general.”

Sawyer called the tournament their “final mission”.

New Zealand were shock winners in 2024 but did so without having to face Australia or England, viewed by most as the top two teams in women’s cricket.

Australia were stunned by South Africa while England were beaten by the West Indies.

The White Ferns beat India in the semi-final and then South Africa to win the title.

Kerr was the star of the tournament taking 15 wickets and scoring 135 runs.

Sawyer said New Zealand have only got stronger since 2024, having won seven of their last eight T20 matches, including big scores of 190 plus on four occasions.

Ahead of 2024 the White Ferns had lost 11 T20 matches in a row.

“I believe we’ve landed on a well-balanced squad that features a mix of experience and exciting young talent,” Sawyer said.

“We’ve worked really hard over the past 12 months to develop our batting depth in particular, which we’ve seen bear fruit in our recent home series against South Africa and Zimbabwe.”

New Zealand will play the West Indies, Sri Lanka, Ireland, Scotland and England in their group.

Squad: Amelia Kerr (capt.), Suzie Bates, Sophie Devine, Flora Devonshire, Izzy Gaze, Maddy Green, Brooke Halliday, Bree Illing, Polly Inglis, Jess Kerr, Rosemary Mair, Nensi Patel, Georgia Plimmer, Izzy Sharp, Lea Tahuhu.