Jess Kerr, Molly Ponfold, and Lauren Down have been added to the NZ squad for the West Indies series
New Zealand pacers Jess Kerr and Molly Penfold alongside top-order player Lauren Down have been named in the squad for the upcoming series against West Indies, which includes three One-Day Internationals and five T20Is.
New Zealand fast bowlers Jess Kerr and Molly Penfold alongside top-order player Lauren Down have been named in the squad for the upcoming series against West Indies, which includes three One-Day Internationals and five T20Is.
The trios have been named in the replacement of Claudia Green, Rosemary Mair, and wicket-keeper Jess McFadyen, who has been dropped from the Commonwealth Games bronze medal-winning side.
While Kerr dropped out of CWG due to an injury, and Down had quit dealing with her prosperity, the 21-year-old Penfold gets back to the national side in the wake of having made her international debut last year against England.
Veteran all-rounder Lea Tahuhu, who had come in as Kerr’s replacement in the CWG crew, has held her spot in the team in the wake of having impressed in the mega event.
“It’s an exciting time for the whole squad and particularly the three players making their returns,”
head coach Ben Sawyer said.
“We’ve seen the success Jess has enjoyed on the international stage in her career to date and it’s been encouraging to see her working her way back from injury, and training with the London Spirt over here in the Hundred in recent weeks.
“It’s great to see Lauren return after taking some personal time away from the game. She was flying with the bat heading into the ODI World Cup in New Zealand earlier this year only to be ruled out of the tournament with that thumb injury – so we’re looking forward to welcoming her back into the environment.
“I first saw Molly bowling when I was working with Australia at the ODI World Cup and remember telling them how good I thought she was, just from watching her practice. You could see she had all the natural attributes for fast bowling and I’ve been sent a few videos of her recent progress – she seems to be going well.”
“We’ve seen the success Jess has enjoyed on the international stage in her career to date and it’s been encouraging to see her working her way back from injury, and training with the London Spirt over here in the Hundred in recent weeks. It’s great to see Lauren return after taking some personal time away from the game.
“She was flying with the bat heading into the ODI World Cup in New Zealand earlier this year only to be ruled out of the tournament with that thumb injury – so we’re looking forward to welcoming her back into the environment.
“I first saw Molly bowling when I was working with Australia at the ODI World Cup and remember telling them how good I thought she was, just from watching her practice. You could see she had all the natural attributes for fast bowling and I’ve been sent a few videos of her recent progress – she seems to be going well.”
Squad: Sophie Devine, Suzie Bates, Eden Carson, Lauren Down, Izzy Gaze, Maddy Green, Brooke Halliday, Hayley Jensen, Fran Jonas, Jess Kerr, Amelia Kerr, Molly Penfold, Georgia Plimmer, Hannah Rowe, Lea Tahuhu