England women to travel to New Zealand for first-ever inbound A tour, New Zealand Cricket (NZC) said on Friday. The visit will consist of three T20s and three 50-over matches across multiple venues in the South Island and will run concurrently with the T20I and ODI series in March.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
New Zealand Cricket’s Head of Women’s High Performance Liz Green, said the A series was part of ongoing efforts to bridge the gap between domestic and international cricket.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
"Welcoming a strong England A team this summer aligns with our aim to build an aspirational pathway programme for our best female players,” said Green. "The recently-completed women’s Ashes series showed off the depth and strength of the English playing programme and it’s exciting to have their best players coming to our shores this summer.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
"A tours provide opportunities for more players to test themselves at that next level, see what international cricket looks like and how they compare.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
"It’s going to be challenging as England is a really strong side, but it’s a great opportunity for those aspiring to be future White Ferms.”<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Green said the opportunity to be selected for this tour would motivate domestic players during the Hallyburton Johnstone Shield and Super Smash campaigns.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
"Having the carrot of playing against international opposition at the end of the summer will certainly add another dimension to the domestic season."<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Green said the series would build on the momentum of last summer’s re-introduced women’s North v South T20 series.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
"The uptake of the North v South series was awesome and it was especially great to see the way in which the players embraced the rivalry and the opportunity to test themselves.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
"The England A tour will be another extension of this and we aim to continue to offer these development series to our next tier of players each season," he said.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
New Zealand A v England A schedule<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Sat 16 March – 1st T20, Sir John Davies Oval, 1pm<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Sun 17 March – 2nd T20, Sir John Davies Oval, 1pm<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Wed 20 March – 3rd T20, Sir John Davies Oval, 1pm<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Sat 23 March – 1st 50-over, University of Otago Oval, 11am<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Thu 28 March – 2nd 50-over, Saxton Oval, 11am<\/p>\r\n\r\n