A couple of Otago players will help plug up the gaps in the White Ferns line-up.

Spinner Eden Carson returns from an injury and batter Bella James has been recalled to help fill the spots left vacant by the international retirements of Suzie Bates, Sophie Devine and Lea Tahuhu.

Pace bowlers Molly Penfold and Hannah Rowe are also back in favour and have been named in the squad to face Australia in the three-match T20I series later this month.

Carson, who has made 51 appearances for the White Ferns, returns to the side following elbow surgery that kept her sidelined since last December.

She will bolster the spin department alongside all-rounders Nensi Patel, Flora Devonshire, and Kerr.

Penfold and Rowe will slot back into the attack and James will strengthen the batting line-up, which will look very different without Bates or Devine.

Injured wicketkeeper Izzy Gaze is also missing from the team, who fell short of the semifinals at the T20 World Cup in the United Kingdom.

Star all-rounder Melie Kerr has been retained as captain while Dean Brownlie will take over as interim head coach following the departure last month of Ben Saywer.

Brownlie has been New Zealand’s batting coach for nearly four years.

“We’re excited to welcome back Eden, Hannah, Molly, and Bella,” Brownlie said.

“There’s a balance of experience and future-focus in this squad and it’s going to be a chance for the group to test themselves against a quality side.

“Competing against the best in the world is always going to be a challenge, but it also provides a lot of opportunities to learn and strengthen skillsets within that.”

Gaze was unavailable following surgery on an ongoing thumb injury and is targeting a return in the new year.

The tour opens with a warm-up match against a Governor-General’s XI on October 15, followed by three T20s in quick succession, all at North Sydney Oval. — Allied Media

 

White Ferns squad

Melie Kerr (captain), Eden Carson, Flora Devonshire, Maddy Green, Brooke Halliday, Bree Illing, Polly Inglis, Bella James, Jess Kerr, Rosemary Mair, Nensi Patel, Molly Penfold, Georgia Plimmer, Hannah Rowe, Izzy Sharp.