AUS-W vs NZ-W: Five players to watch out for in Trans-Tasman T20I Series

Alyssa Healy

Australian women’s team have travelled to their neighbouring country of New Zealand for a three-match T20I series followed by an ODI series of the same number of matches. The first match will be played on March 28, 2021. Here are the 5 players to watch out for in the AUS-W vs NZ-W T20I series:

5. Brooke Halliday

Brooke Halliday made her debut recently in the home series against England. She impressed with both the bat and ball during the ODI series against the visiting English side. Scoring two fifties, she made sure that she stayed in the consideration for the Australian series. She also took two wickets in those matches. However, her T20I record so far doesn’t have a happy reading. She would be looking to improve on that when she faces the Aussies.

4. Ellyse Perry

Over the years, Ellyse Perry has proved time and again that she is a world-class player. However, coming back to international cricket after a long injury break is not easy for any player. She had limped out of the field during the 2020 ICC Women’s T20 World Cup match against New Zealand. Since then, Perry has not played a single match for her national side. Recently, she had also revealed that she has made some adjustments to her bowling, which is something people would be interested in witnessing.

3. Sophie Devine

Sophie Devine is New Zealand’s best T20 batter by a distance. However, she would be under a little bit of pressure when she comes out to bat in the first match against Australia. The right-handed batter hasn’t been in the best of forms in T20Is recently. During the England series, she only scored 10 runs from three innings and in the ODI series preceding that she had managed only 37 runs in three innings. However, after that series, she managed to get back in form in domestic cricket with knocks of 74 and 97 in the 50 overs competition.

2. Amelia Kerr

The 20-year-old has been looked at as the future star of the New Zealand women’s team. In the past couple of years, she has shown her true capabilities with both bat and ball. However, in this series, her side will want to step her game up by a notch. Having lost the T20I series against England 3-0, the White Ferns would want to bounce back. If Kerr can bring the best out of her, then it will give her side a sniff against the World Champions.

1. Beth Mooney

The left-handed batter would be coming into this series hoping to regain her no. 1 spot in the ICC rankings in T20Is. India’s Shafali Verma had recently toppled her to reach the top of the ladder. She has also been in some great form with the bat. In her last appearance for her domestic side, Mooney had scored 163 runs in a 50 overs clash. Along with Alyssa Healy, she would be looking to give the Australian side good starts.