No team that has the likes of Suzie Bates and Sophie Devine will be a mere pushover and that essentially is what makes the White Ferns confident ahead of the T20 World Cup. Since finishing as the runners up in successive tournaments in 2009 and 2010, the White Ferns have performed below par. They finished as semi-finalists in 2012 and 2016 but exited in the first round last T20 World Cup.
Squad
Sophie Devine (c), Suzie Bates, Lauren Down, Maddy Green, Holly Huddleston, Hayley Jensen, Leigh Kasperek, Amelia Kerr, Jess Kerr, Rosemary Mair, Katey Martin, Katie Perkins, Anna Peterson, Rachel Priest, Lea Tahuhu
Strength
Two real superstar cricketers, Suzie Bates and Sophie Devine, carry the White Ferns and have been carrying them through the six T20 tournaments they have played so far. Bates and Devine's form will decide if New Zealand will have a bad tournament. But for them to have a great tournament, the other players too need to step up. Luckily, the Kerr sisters are in fine form with Amelia and Jess shining in the Women's Suepr Smash. Jess finished as the top wicket-taker with 20 wickets in the latest edition and will be a good x-factor bowler for them this tournament.
Weakness
Picking up wickets has been an issue for the New Zealand women who struggled in this aspect in the recent series against South Africa women. They were defeated in three matches and performed well below par suggesting how their plans could go awry if the bowlers do not complement the experienced batters. They need their other team members to punch above their weight this tournament.
Opportunity
That they play in conditions very similar to what they get at home could favour the White Ferns who struggled in the last tournament in the Caribbean Islands. The nature of pitches and weather conditions remain familiar to them and their pace bowling all-rounders and handy bowling assets could just punch together to lift them from the group stages after which Bates and Devine are truly capable of single-handedly giving them a rare trophy.
Threat
Leigh Kasperek is a senior customer with the ball and her form will be vital to White Ferns' chances. She has taken more T20I wickets than all but Devine for New Zealand Women. 17 of her 58 wickets have come in T20 World Cups. The spinner was the joint top wicket-taker in the 2016 World Cup where the White Ferns made the semis. Her economy rate and how she pairs up with Amelia Kerr could well decide how New Zealand dictate games in the middle overs.
Feature image courtesy: AFP/ MICHAEL BRADLEY
