England Women squads named for white-ball tour to New Zealand

England Women have named their squads for the upcoming white ball tour of New Zealand.

Heather Knight’s side will play five IT20s and three ODIs across March and April. Hollie Armitage and Linsey Smith are named in the IT20 squad for the opening three matches.

Northern Diamonds captain Armitage, who represented England Women A in the tour of India in November and has recently been out in New Zealand playing for the Central Hinds in their Super Smash T20 competition, could make her senior IT20 debut.

Meanwhile, left-arm spinner Smith could be in line for her first international appearance since 2019.

Alice Capsey, Sophie Ecclestone, Nat Sciver-Brunt and Danielle Wyatt will be available from the fourth IT20 match at the conclusion of this year’s Women’s Premier League (WPL).

Head coach Jon Lewis will lead UP Warriorz in this season’s WPL and will link up with England on 12 March for a week of preparation ahead of their first IT20. The tour starts in Dunedin with further fixtures taking place in Nelson, Wellington and Hamilton.

The England Women A squad to travel to New Zealand has also been named.

Blaze captain Kirstie Gordon will lead the A side in their IT20 matches while Sunrisers’ Grace Scrivens captains for the ODIs. Tash Farrant and Emma Lamb are both included in the squad. Farrant continues to build up her bowling return following a stress fracture. Lamb continues her return to play following lower back surgery.

Following a recurrence of a back injury, Freya Kemp will tour with the A group as a batter only. Managing her workload over the next few months will be an important part of her return to full availability.

The A side, who will be led by former Durham head coach and current ECB performance batting coach Jon Lewis, will play three T20s and three 50 over matches in Queenstown, Dunedin and Nelson.

England Women head coach Jon Lewis said: “We are really looking forward to the upcoming IT20 and ODI series’ in New Zealand.

“This tour is another important step in our build-up to the IT20 World Cup in Bangladesh later this year. We’re delighted to bring in Hollie Armitage and Linsey Smith to the IT20 group.

“I have been really impressed with Hollie (Armitage) across the course of last summer, especially over The Hundred which I think is a really good indicator of how she might play at the next level. On the England A tour to India in November, I thought she was a standout performer in terms of the role she can play in the England side.

“Linsey (Smith) has been performing for a long period of time at a high level and gives us a high quality left-arm spin option. With Sophie Ecclestone unavailable for the first three IT20 matches, Linsey is, in my opinion, the second best left-arm spinner in the country in T20 format. She has recently been to the Women’s Big Bash League (WBBL) and Super Smash in New Zealand where she has enhanced her skills and played a lot of cricket.

“Both selections give us an opportunity to test our depth and develop a wider playing group capable of delivering on the international stage across a very congested and demanding schedule in 2024/25.

“Over the years New Zealand have always been a strong opponent and we look forward to the challenge of adapting to new conditions and playing entertaining cricket. We are looking to build on the successes we had in 2023 and help in growing the women’s game in New Zealand and at home.”

Director of England Women’s cricket, Jonathan Finch added: “The short window of just one or two days between the end of the WPL and the first IT20 in New Zealand has meant we have needed to balance the challenges of long-term workload management for players, allowing participation in the WPL and ensuring we give clarity to the group of players preparing for the first three IT20s.

“As a result, we have named two IT20 squads with the WPL players being available for the fourth and fifth matches of the series. All players participating in the WPL were given our backing to remain in India for the duration of the tournament.

“Lauren Bell and Heather Knight have withdrawn from the WPL to ensure they can be available for all IT20 games in New Zealand. They withdrew once they learnt that the WPL regulations don’t allow for replacements mid-tournament, not wanting their respective WPL teams to be disadvantaged by their early departure.

“England Women head coach Jon Lewis will leave the WPL early to lead the squad preparations in New Zealand.”

IT20 squad for first-third matches

Hollie Armitage (Northern Diamonds)
Tammy Beaumont (The Blaze)
Lauren Bell (Southern Vipers)
Maia Bouchier (Southern Vipers)
Charlie Dean (Southern Vipers)
Sophia Dunkley (South East Stars)
Lauren Filer (Western Storm)
Danielle Gibson (Western Storm)
Sarah Glenn (The Blaze)
Bess Heath (Northern Diamonds)
Amy Jones (Central Sparks)
Heather Knight (captain; Western Storm)
Linsey Smith (Southern Vipers)

IT20 squad for fourth and fifth matches

Tammy Beaumont (The Blaze)
Lauren Bell (Southern Vipers)
Maia Bouchier (Southern Vipers)
Alice Capsey (South East Stars)
Charlie Dean (Southern Vipers)
Sophia Dunkley (South East Stars)
Sophie Ecclestone (Thunder)
Lauren Filer (Western Storm)
Danielle Gibson (Western Storm)
Sarah Glenn (The Blaze)
Bess Heath (Northern Diamonds)
Amy Jones (Central Sparks)
Heather Knight (captain; Western Storm)
Nat Sciver-Brunt (The Blaze)
Danielle Wyatt (Southern Vipers)

ODI squad

Tammy Beaumont (The Blaze)
Lauren Bell (Southern Vipers)
Maia Bouchier (Southern Vipers)
Alice Capsey (South East Stars)
Kate Cross (Thunder)
Charlie Dean (Southern Vipers)
Sophia Dunkley (South East Stars)
Sophie Ecclestone (Thunder)
Lauren Filer (Western Storm)
Danielle Gibson (Western Storm)
Sarah Glenn (The Blaze)
Bess Heath (Northern Diamonds)
Amy Jones (Central Sparks)
Heather Knight (captain; Western Storm)
Nat Sciver-Brunt (The Blaze)
Danielle Wyatt (Southern Vipers)

England Women A squad

Georgia Adams (Southern Vipers)
Hannah Baker (Central Sparks)
Alice Davidson-Richards (South East Stars)
Tash Farrant (South East Stars)
Kirstie Gordon (IT20 captain; The Blaze)
Freya Kemp (Southern Vipers)
Emma Lamb (Thunder)
Ryana MacDonald-Gay (South East Stars)
Sophie Munro (The Blaze)
Grace Potts (Central Sparks)
Paige Schofield (South East Stars)
Grace Scrivens (ODI captain; Sunrisers)
Seren Smale (Thunder)
Rhianna Southby (Southern Vipers)
Mady Villiers (Sunrisers)

England Women fixtures (all timings in GMT)

19 March – 1st IT20 – Dunedin – 1am
22 March – 2nd IT20 – Nelson – 1am
24 March – 3rd IT20 – Nelson – 1am
27 March – 4th IT20 – Wellington – 1am
29 March – 5th IT20 – Wellington – 1am
31 March – 1st ODI – Wellington – 11pm
3 April – 2nd ODI – Hamilton – 11pm
6 April – 3rd ODI – Hamilton – 11pm

England Women A fixtures (all start timings GMT)

16 March – 1st IT20 – Queenstown – 12am
17 March -2nd IT20 – Queenstown – 12am
20 March – 3rd IT20 – Queenstown – 12am
23 March – 1st ODI – Dunedin – 10pm
28 March – 2nd ODI – Nelson – 10pm
30 March – 3rd ODI – Nelson – 10pm