Midcourter Gina Crampton was called into the national squad yesterday to replace Kayla Cullen for the upcoming four-match Constellation Cup series against Australia.
Cullen has suffered a foot injury and will miss six to eight weeks.Crampton becomes the fifth player from the Steel’s 2016 roster to be named in the Silver Ferns.
She joins Shannon Francois, Jane Watson, Te Paea Selby-Rickit and Storm Purvis in the squad. Should she make her debut she will become the 164th Silver Fern.
It had not yet been decided who will replace Cullen in the New Zealand team for the Fast5 Netball World Series, in which Crampton had already been named.
The Constellation Cup begins on October 9 in Sydney, and the second match will be played in Tasmania three days later.
The series will then shift to New Zealand, for matches in Auckland on October 15 and Invercargill on October 20.
No-one wants to win selection for a national side because of an injury to another player but Crampton’s selection caps off what has been a stellar year for the 24-year-old.
She was a constant starter for the Steel at wing attack and a key part in the side which topped the standings in the ANZ Championships before crashing out in the finals.
Crampton has signed on again for next season with the Steel and will form a potent attacking threat for the southern franchise.
She had been named in the New Zealand A side but has won promotion to the national side.
It is hardly a horses-for-courses selection, as Crampton replaces Cullen, who is more of a defender.
But the Silver Ferns midcourt has been struggling for fluency in some of the games in the whitewash over the Jamaicans and coach Janine Southby may see Crampton as an option to free up the attacking side of the national team.
The side will leave for Australia early next week and face an Australian side with some new faces.
