Three CENTRAL HINDS will be winging their way to England shortly as part of the WHITE FERNS ODI contingent for May's tour of the United Kingdom.

So far only the ODI squad has been named by New Zealand Cricket, with the T20 International squad to be named this Wednesday.

Hinds stars Flora Devonshire and Emma McLeod are both set for their first top level overseas series, joining pace ace Rosemary Mair in the squad for the ODI leg of the tour.

Missing is contracted WHITE FERN and experienced allrounder Hannah Rowe, with selectors continuing to favour Auckland Hearts duo Molly Penfold and left-armer Bree Illing who brings prodigious swing.

The three-match ODI Series will be preceded by a warm-up fixture against an ECB Development XI on 6 May to brush off the cobwebs since the end of the summer when 27-year-old Mair took her career-best 5/50, in the last ODI against South Africa here on New Zealand shores.

The star seamer now has 25 ODI wickets to go with 31 in T20 internationals and will be naturally looking to add to that tally, while 23-year-old Devonshire will be hoping to add to her sole ODI cap so far - having made her 50-over international debut against South Africa at the end of March, and McLeod too, after making six appearances before her 20th birthday.

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Top of the agenda for McLeod will be scoring a maiden WHITE FERNS ODI half century, after a ground-breaking summer for the Hinds at Domestic level that led to her being named the Central Hinds Player of the Year for the first time at the annual CD Awards earlier this month.

McLeod has a high score of 35 in ODIs, her strongest format in Domestic cricket; and 44 in T20is. She scored her maiden one-day List A century for the Hinds at the start of the 2025/26 season.

Both left-armer Devonshire and McLeod add spin options to the WHITE FERNS attack as well as proven batting prowess, and Devonshire's first full tour offers some belated consolation after having been selected initially in the team’s 2025 ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup squad, only to return home without getting a game after she sustained a finger injury during training. 

Melie Kerr, who took on the full-time WHITE FERNS captaincy in February, will lead the 15-strong squad alongside senior players Suzie Bates, Maddy Green, and Brooke Halliday. 

Bates will retire from international cricket at the conclusion of the subsequent ICC Women's T20 World Cup, and the tour to England and Wales marks her ODI swansong.

WHITE FERNS head coach Ben Sawyer said it was a well-balanced squad.

“We’ve got some exciting young talent in this squad with the likes of Emma, Izzy, [Sharp], Nensi [Patel], and Flora, alongside our core group of seasoned campaigners.

“Our younger players are finding their feet in international cricket, but they’ve proved they have what it takes to succeed at this level.

“England is a tough side to beat in their home conditions - so it’s a good chance to test ourselves."

The squad departs for England later this week and the squad for the T20 leg of the series as well as the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup will be named this Wednesday, 29 April.

NZC said broadcast information for the England and Wales tour "will be confirmed in due course".

2026 ODI Series v England

Melie Kerr - captain, Wellington Blaze

Suzie Bates - Otago Sparks

Flora Devonshire - Central Hinds

Izzy Gaze - Auckland Hearts

Maddy Green - Auckland Hearts

Brooke Halliday - Auckland Hearts

Bree Illing - Auckland Hearts

Polly Inglis - Otago Sparks

Jess Kerr - Wellington Blaze

Emma McLeod - Central Hinds

Rosemary Mair - Central Hinds

Nensi Patel - Northern Districts

Molly Penfold - Auckland Hearts

Georgia Plimmer - Wellington Blaze

Izzy Sharp - Canterbury Magicians

SCHEDULE
 

Warm-up match • Wednesday 6 May 10pm (NZT) v ECB Development XI • Durham

1st ODI • Sunday 10 May 10pm (NZT) • Durham

2nd ODI • Thursday 14 May 12am (NZT) • Northampton

3rd ODI • Saturday 16 May 10pm (NZT) • Cardiff

Article added: Monday 27 April 2026