Cricket: Debutantes to boost White Ferns

Leg spinner Erin Bermingham and all-rounder Kate Broadmore have been promoted into the White Ferns' Twenty20 cricket squad to play Australia after fine performances during last month's emerging players' tour across the Tasman.

For the one-day international Rose Bowl series against Australia, the national selectors of coach Gary Stead, Penny Kinsella and Bruce Blair have picked a mix of experience and youth for the side.

The debutantes in the ODI side are Emma Campbell, a leg spinner, Natalie Dodd, a top-order batsman and Morna Nielsen, a left-arm spinner.

"All three players have been watched carefully over the season and all three could make an immediate impact in the upcoming series," Stead said yesterday.

"The selection panel believe it is important to start integrating players into the White Ferns who could play a significant part in the next World Cup.

"We believe we have some very exciting young players who will stand up to the test of international cricket against Australia."

The ODI team also features the recall of Maria Fahey after a two-year layoff from international cricket with illness.

The five-match ODI series will be played from February 10-18 in Adelaide and Melbourne.

Rachel Priest and Lucy Doolan have not been selected for this leg of the tour because of injuries and rehabilitation. They will need to pass fitness tests to confirm their places for the Twenty20 series.

Previous White Fern Sarah Tsukigawa is unavailable and Suzie Bates will miss the ODI segment because of commitments with the Logan Thunder team in the Australian women's National Basketball League.

"The [ODI] team have 10 players with World Cup final experience from 2009 and we will be learning from some of our past mistakes in trying to become a more consistent and complete team," Stead said.

White Ferns captain Aimee Watkins said the five new players had good seasons for their provinces and fully deserve their call-up. Four of the five players were also on the recent emerging players' tour to Australia.

The Twenty20 series will be played from February 21-28.

The White Ferns will play three of the five matches against Australia as double-header games on both sides of the Tasman before the Black Caps take on Australia in Christchurch and Wellington and before the Australia-West Indies match in Hobart.

The remaining two matches will also be played in Hobart.

How they line up:

* New Zealand women's ODI squad to play Australia in the Rose Bowl Series:
Aimee Watkins (c), Nicola Browne, Abby Burrows, Emma Campbell, Sophie Devine, Natalie Dodd, Maria Fahey, Victoria Lind, Sara McGlashan, Katey Martin, Morna Nielsen, Kate Pulford, Sian Ruck, Amy Satterthwaite.

* Twenty20 squad:
Aimee Watkins (c), Suzie Bates, Erin Bermingham, Kate Broadmore, Nicola Browne, Saskia Bullen, Sophie Devine, Lucy Doolan, Sara McGlashan, Katey Martin, Rachel Priest, Kate Pulford, Sian Ruck, Amy Satterthwaite.

- NZPA