KEY POINTS:
Four newcomers have been included in a 16-strong Silver Ferns netball squad named today.
They are New Zealand A members Anna Thompson and Erika Burgess, Southern Steel midcourter Wendy Telfer and Waikato Bay of Plenty Magic defender Jodi Tod.
Thompson, a shooter, played for the Canterbury Tactix in the transtasman ANZ Championship, while Burgess was a midcourter for the Southern Steel.
The selectors have held off naming a replacement skipper for Adine Wilson, who is taking time out after giving birth to her first child.
The captaincy appointment, as well as the paring down of the squad to 12 for tests against Australia and England, will be made at the end of August after the first Silver Ferns camp.
Aitken said picking the squad had involved some difficult decisions, but the selectors were confident that the 16 chosen would develop individually and as a unit.
"We believe this is a group of athletes who are extremely committed to the challenges ahead," she said.
"The squad is a good mix of experience and youth and has an eye to the future - with six of the squad having been in the winning World Youth Cup team of 2005."
Silver Ferns squad
Shooters - Paula Griffin (Mystics), Anna Thompson (Tactix), Maria Tutaia (Magic), Irene van Dyk (Magic), Daneka Wipiiti (Steel)
Midcourt - Maree Bowden (Tactix), Erika Burgess(Steel), Laura Langman (Magic), Julie Seymour (Tactix), Wendy Telfer (Steel)
Defence - Leana de Bruin (Mystics), Katrina Grant (Steel), Joline Henry (Magic), Sheryl Scanlan (Mystics), Jodi Tod (Magic), Casey Williams(Magic)
- NZPA
