The England A squads selected to oppose New Zealand’s A team may appear straight- forward.
The one difficulty the ECB had was in picking from dozens of promising performances during the match-heavy drought the 2025 season has brought.
The Squads:
ODIs:
Grace Scrivens (captain), Hannah Baker, Tilly Corteen-Coleman, Mahika Gaur, Jodi Grewcock, Emma Jones, Freya Kemp, Abi Norgrove, Charis Pavely, Davina Perrin, Grace Potts, Seren Smale, Rhianna Southby, Alexa Stonehouse, Grace Thompson, Phoebe Turner (16)
T20s
Grace Scrivens (captain), Hannah Baker, Tilly Corteen-Coleman, Mahika Gaur, Bess Heath, Emma Jones, Ryanna Macdonald-Gay, Ella McCaughan, Charis Pavely, Davina Perrin, Grace Potts, Seren Smale, Alexa Stonehouse (13)
Thoughts
Not for the first time, it’s hard to tell whether the selectors are making a clear distinction between players’ suitability for the two formats or taking pot luck. The man in charge is Jon Lewis. He has to be introduced as Jon Judge Lewis, to distinguish him from any other Jon Lewis you may recall. His official title is “England Women Performance Coach”, as awkward as you could wish.
Grace Scrivens is honoured with the captaincy for all six matches. At least this is a reassurance that Charlotte Edwards hasn’t completely forgotten about her; there aren’t many slots available for openers in the current England side.
Other points of interest
Freya Kemp’s name appears in the first list, one of a few here to have worn a full England shirt. She has been plagued by back trouble, so has had to concentrate on her batting her one big success recently, a swashbuckling 65*, came against the weakest bowling attack in Tier One, Somerset.
Ella McGaughan is now producing the runs that her talent had long foretold. Her recent scores: 106, 81, 68 and 68*, are all the evidence needed. Jodi Grewcock likewise has been in the runs. Her leg-spin has not progressed at the same rate, so Hannah Baker can rest assured of a call from her captain.
The two Midlanders, Charis Pavely and Davina Perrin, have both advanced strongly since their tour to South Africa with the U19s. Pavely’s left-arm spin is now a real weapon. That, added to her batting prowess, may yet be bad news for Tilly Corteen-Coleman. Despite her obvious talent with the ball, she hasn’t fought her way up to No 10 in the batting order. Perrin is producing runs the way coaching manuals tell us we should, and her fielding is an equal joy to watch.
By contrast, Hampshire’s Abi Norgrove may be a touch lucky to find favour. She hasn’t been scoring runs with any consistency recently.
Each squad lists its own wicket-keeper. They are a breed who are expected to score a hundred every time they reach the crease. That had been a handicap for Rhianna Southby, but her batting skills have advanced strongly; by the end of the ODI’s she might be knocking on the door for Amy Jones’ gloves, but that’s a long shot. There is still no obvious substitute for the England keeper.
Bess Heath, the other pretender, has to make do with the T20s, where her hard hitting will be useful.
The quick-bowling stakes are far from certain. Mahika Gaur’s assets are her left-handedness and her unsettling bounce. But she has yet to prove capable of taking strings of wickets. Her nearest equivalent, Alexa Stonehouse, has produced admirable analyses, and can swing the ball disconcertingly.
Grace Potts, the one other quickie, was called up for the test against South Africa last year, but hasn’t yet offered unanswerable evidence for her inclusion. Emma Jones can act as a back-up seamer, while her athletic fielding is a better calling-card than her recent batting record.
The Opposition
Lewis makes the usual diplomatic remarks about the opposition, and he tells the truth. What we always know is that Kiwi cricketers punch well above their weight.
Brendon Donkers has named a 15-strong squad:
Emma Black (Otago Sparks), Anna Browning (Otago Sparks), Flora Devonshire (Central Hinds),
Izzy Gaze (Auckland Hearts), Amie Hucker (Auckland Hearts), Bree Illing (Auckland Hearts), Polly Inglis (Otago Sparks), Bella James (Otago Sparks), Emma McLeod (Central Hinds), Nensi Patel (Northern Districts), Molly Penfold (Auckland Hearts), Georgia Plimmer (Wellington Blaze), Hannah Rowe (Central Hinds), Izzy Sharp (Canterbury Magicians), Jess Watkin (Northern Districts)
It includes no fewer than eleven names from White Ferns’ sides, including the keeper, Izzy Gaze, Molly Penfold, Georgia Plimmer and Hannah Rowe. Donkers will nominate a captain later.
The England sides will be put to a thorough test (but not to a test match, of course).
Schedule:
ODIs
1st: June 23, Derby
2nd: June 26, Derby
3rd: June 29, Chelmsford
T20s
1st: July 3, Chelmsford 2nd: July 5, Beckenham 3rd: July 7, Beckenham
Afterthoughts
The spacing of the two trios of matches will set a premium on fitness, not least the T20’s, with single rest days between.
We have a curious restriction on player-availability for England. Thompson is limited to the first ODI, Gaur to the third; Will they prove automatic choices for those games?
