Cricket: Young talent gets its chance on New Zealand women's tour of Britain

Sophie Devine and Suzie Bates of New Zealand. Photo / Photosport

New Zealand have handed debut tours to teenager Jess Watkin and Bernadine Bezuidenhout when they head to England and Ireland.

The pair have been included in a 15-player squad who will play ODIs against Ireland and world champions England, along with a T20 tri-series against South Africa and England.

Watkin was Central Districts player of the year in the 2016-17 season, the T20 and under-21 player of the just-concluded summer, and bagged a fine double century at the national under 21 tournament late last year.

"She's an explosive batter who hits the ball hard and is a more than useful off-spin option, so she offers us great versatility. We've also been impressed by the work she's done on her fitness and physical conditioning over the past season,'' women's selector Kirty Bond said.

Bezuidenhout, a former South African international is Northern Districts' sole representative in the squad. She became available for New Zealand selection in March after a three-year international stand-down.

"Bernadine's an exciting player and proved her talent by topping the women's domestic T20 runs table this season,'' Bond said.

"She's an innovative player with a wide skill-set and like Jess, plays that aggressive style of cricket which we believe we need going forward.

"Bernadine's also an excellent athlete who's good in the park and that aligns with our intention to build a multi-faceted team-unit, particularly for T20 cricket."

Both players had been on the radar for a while and their selections were with an eye to November's world T20 in the West Indies.

Suzie Bates captains the quad, which also includes experienced players such as Sophie Devine, Amy Satterthwaite and Lea Tahuhu.

The 15-player squad will have for a training camp at Lincoln from May 12–15, before departing for Dublin on June 1.

New Zealand squad: Suzie Bates (c), Leigh Kasperek, Katey Martin (Otago), Bernadine Bezuidenhout (Northern Districts), Sophie Devine, Amelia Kerr (Wellington), Holly Huddleston, Maddy Green, Anna Peterson (Auckland), Lea Tahuhu, Amy Satterthwaite, Kate Ebrahim (Canterbury), Hannah Rowe, Jess Watkin (Central Districts), Hayley Jenswen (ACT).