With a strong core of experienced players – Bates, Devine, Satterthwaite, Kasperek – New Zealand will be keen to make amends for their collapse in the 2016 World T20 semi-final
Vishal Dikshit08-Nov-2018 Squad listAmy Satterthwaite (capt), Suzie Bates, Bernadine Bezuidenhout, Sophie Devine, Kate Ebrahim, Maddy Green, Holly Huddleston, Hayley Jensen, Leigh Kasperek, Amelia Kerr, Katey Martin, Lea Tahuhu, Jess Watkin, Anna Peterson, Hannah Rowe World T20 pedigreeOne of the stronger and consistent teams in women’s cricket, New Zealand had a stellar run in the 2016 World T20 until they fumbled in the semi-final. Apart from pushing aside Sri Lanka and Ireland in their opening two matches, they thrashed Australia by six wickets (how often does Meg Lanning get out for a golden duck?) and then bowled South Africa out for 99. In the semi-final too, they were on their way to chase down 144 against West Indies but the eventual champions struck timely blows to end New Zealand’s campaign.They still have the same personnel who starred in their run to the knockouts – Suzie Bates, Sophie Devine and Leigh Kasperek albeit under a different captain this time. Bates stepped down just two months before the World T20 and handed the reins to experienced allrounder Amy Satterthwaite. If Bates can perform even better than how she has been with the bat in recent times – centuries for Hampshire, Player-of-the-Match performance in the IPL exhibition match – then oppositions will have to find new ways to restrict her. She will, however, need more support from the middle order if New Zealand wish to go all the way.Leigh Kasperek (holding the trophy) poses for a selfie with her team-mates•IDI/Getty Images Recent T20I formAfter the last World T20, they won twice against Pakistan and even beat Australia 2-1 in Australia (2017) and whitewashed West Indies 4-0 at home earlier this year.Their recent form will be a slight worry though. They won only two of five matches in a T20I tri-series against South Africa and England in June, and were handed a seven-wicket thrashing in the final. A big positive in that series included their record score of 216 in the opener, but the main contribution came from Bates’ 66-ball 124.In their most recent series, away from home, Australia blanked them 3-0. Batting first, New Zealand could not defend their totals in any of the three matches. Going into the World T20, they will hope their spinners Leigh Kasperek and Amelia Kerr fare much better on the slower pitches in the Caribbean.Amy Satterthwaite pulls stylishly•Getty Images The captain and coach”Branch”, as she is known for her height, Amy Satterthwaite is one of the more experienced players in the squad. Having begun her international career in 2007, the middle-order batsman has made six ODI centuries and strikes at nearly 95 in T20Is. She also has a knack of scoring big in big matches – her maiden international century was against Australia, and she scored 103 and 85 in successive matches against England in the 2013 World Cup.She was left out of the squad for the World T20 in 2014 but returned with impressive performances and has now played in the WBBL as well as the Kia Super League in England. She also became the first woman to score four consecutive ODI centuries, only the second player in international cricket after Kumar Sangakkara.Earlier a medium-pacer, she switched to bowling offspin and even holds the best T20I figures (among the major nations) of 6 for 17.Haidee Tiffen, also one of the finest allrounders of her time, has been with New Zealand for three-and-a-half years now. Also a former captain and an impressive athlete when she played, she focusses on all those aspects as a coach and mentor for several of the young women in the squad. She also acted as the assistant coach of Auckland Hearts and the New Zealand side before taking over full time from Hamish Barton. Having won the 2000 World Cup and led her side to the final of the 2009 edition, she will be eager to achieve similar success as a coach this time, and in a different format.The male cricketer to come closest to Amelia Kerr’s 232 not out and five-for in an ODI is Alvin Kallicharran, who made 206 and took six wickets in a List A game in England in 1984•Getty Images Best playersThe top run-scorer in women’s T20Is, New Zealand’s second-highest wicket-taker in the format, and the player with most catches by a non-wicketkeeper for her country – Suzie Bates. Opening the batting with the explosive Sophie Devine, Bates will be the most crucial player for New Zealand, playing the anchor role with the bat, picking up wickets with the ball and defusing crunch situations when they arise. This year, apart from her form in international cricket, she chipped in with vital performances for the Southern Vipers in the Kia Super League.As much as frontline spinners Kasperek and Kerr are expected to exploit the conditions in the coming weeks, New Zealand will need some solidity in the middle order too, and they will look to Katey Martin for that. Their captain also named Martin as one of the key players for the tournament, after they arrived in Guyana last week. Apart from wicketkeeping gloves, Martin brings with her the experience of 140 international matches having made her debut in 2003. She has scored four T20I fifties this year, was the Player of the T20I Series against West Indies at home earlier this year, and put on a record 124 with Satterthwaite in the second T20I of the same series – then the highest for New Zealand. Where will they finishGiven they are in Group B with India, Australia, Pakistan and Ireland, New Zealand will have to reach the knockouts at the expense of India or Australia. Considering Australia’s pedigree, the tournament’s opening game between India and New Zealand could well decide who takes the first-mover advantage out of the two. While they have made it to the knockouts consistently in the past, it’s the extra push towards the final they have lacked and need to overcome.
