WHITE FERNS stars Fran Jonas, Georgia Plimmer and Izzy Gaze have been included in New Zealand’s squad for the inaugural ICC Under-19 Women’s T20 World Cup in South Africa in January.
The trio bring 44 senior international caps worth of experience to the 15-strong squad and featured in this year’s Birmingham Commonwealth Games, while Jonas and Plimmer were also part of the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup 2022.
The remainder of the U19 squad is made up of players who recently toured India with the NZ Women’s Development team and those who starred at the recent Gillette Venus National Women’s U19 tournament in Lincoln.
Emma McLeod (Central Districts), Tash Wakelin (Northern Districts), Kate Chandler (Wellington), and Izzy Sharp (Canterbury) get their call-ups off the back of being among the top run scorers across both the One-Day and T20 competitions at the National U19 tournament over the weekend. Chandler also featured with the ball in the T20s, taking six wickets and finishing as the equal-top wicket-taker, helping Wellington claim their first Gillette Venus U19 National trophy.
The ICC’s eligibility criteria outline that each player of a participating team must be under the age of 19 on 31 August 2022 – therefore born on or after 1 September 2003.
NZC High Performance Coach and former WHITE FERN Sara McGlashan will coach the NZ U19s and be assisted by fellow former players Donovan Grobbelaar and Tarun Nethula, with the trio having already worked together on the recent NZC Women’s Development tour to India.
“I’d like to congratulate all the players selected.” McGlashan said.
“Representing your country at a World Cup is a huge honour and I know the entire squad is excited about the opportunity ahead, especially with it being the first tournament of its kind for women.
“I think we’ve got a strong squad for this World Cup with a nice mix of youth and experience.
“For many of the players, this will be their first time travelling overseas to play cricket, so they’ll certainly benefit from the experience of Fran, Georgia and Izzy, the natural leaders in this group.”
New Zealand Under-19 Women’s World Cup Squad
Olivia Anderson (Auckland)
Anna Browning (Auckland)
Kate Chandler (Wellington)
Natasha Codyre (Wellington)
Isabella Gaze (Auckland)
Antonia Hamilton (Wellington)
Abigail Hotton (Canterbury)
Breearne Illing (Auckland)
Fran Jonas (Auckland)
Kayley Knight (Northern Districts)
Paige Loggenberg (Otago)
Emma McLeod (Central Districts)
Georgia Plimmer (Wellington)
Izzy Sharp (Canterbury)
Tash Wakelin (Northern Districts)
A captain for the side will be confirmed in due course.
McGlashan highlighted the opportunities the World Cup would offer for developing technical and interpersonal skills.
“We’ve obviously got a variety of experience levels within the squad and will be putting a high priority on everyone looking to learn and grow their games.
“While achieving success on the field is important – we’ll also be taking a holistic approach to the tournament in the hope of developing these girls further as people as well as players.
“The tournament will be an incredible experience both on and off the field and one these players will never forget so we want to ensure we create a fun environment, which allows them to really enjoy the experience.”
New Zealand will begin the 16-team World Cup in Group C alongside Ireland, Indonesia and West Indies, with the top three sides from each group advancing to the round-robin Super Six stage, from which the four semi-finalists will emerge.
The squad departs for South Africa on January 4 ahead of warm-up matches commencing January 9.
