New Zealand announce squad for Twenty-20 series against Australia

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New Zealand announce squad for Twenty-20 series against Australia

WHITE FERNS celebrating a wicket. ©ICC

The White Ferns' have announced their 13-woman squad for their upcoming series against trans-Tasman rivals, Australia. The series starts on September 29 and features three Twenty-20's.



This series will be Amy Satterthwaite's first assignment as skipper after her predecessor Suzie Bates announced she will be stepping down from captaincy. The squad features five spinners, including Satterthwaite herself. The other spinners are Maddy Green, Leigh Kasperek and young guns Amelia Kerr and Jess Watkin. This is to ensure the bowlers are better prepared for the low and slow wickets of the Caribbean, where they will be playing the Twenty-20 World Cup in November.



White Ferns' Head Coach Haidee Tiffin spoke to Cricket New Zealand after the squad announcement saying, "We are blessed with a group of versatile cricketers and know that spin should play a large part in the Caribbean, especially with the slower nature of the pitches over there."



This, in no way, means the White Ferns' are lacking in their pace department. Their pace attack features experienced internationals Sophie Devine, Holly Huddleston, Lea Tahuhu and Suzie Bates, with Hayley Jensen being a recent addition to the squad.



Tiffen believes the White Ferns' have found the right balance between youth and experience for their series with Australia, leading up to the Twenty-20 World Cup, saying "We had an excellent four days at Lincoln last week where we combined skill work with three highly competitive practice matches. We learnt more about our players at camp, and with two of the practice matches going down to the final ball, we were able to see how players reacted in different pressure situations."



She also expressed her excitement over facing "old foe" Australia again in the words, "... we are looking forward to getting stuck into some competitive cricket against the old foe, Australia."



The White Ferns' have won their previous few Twenty-20 series against Australia. Will they be able to repeat that result? They certainly have the squad too.



Full Fixtures Here



Squad: 



Amy Satterthwaite (c), Suzie Bates, Bernadine Bezuidenhout, Sophie Devine, Kate Ebrahim, Maddy Green, Holly Huddleston, Hayley Jensen, Leigh Kasperek, Amelia Kerr, Katey Martin, Lea Tahuhu, Jess Watkin



 
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