New Zealand went on an unexpectedly glorious run at the 2024 T20 World Cup. It was their third appearance in a T20 World Cup final, and their first since 2010, having also been beaten by England in the final of the inaugural edition in 2009.
During the 14-year period between 2010 and 2024, the White Ferns were knocked out of the group stage four times, while making the semifinals twice, the last of which was in 2016.
They had lost 10 successive games going into the tournament in the UAE, but lost just once en route to their final win over South Africa. Nevertheless, their victory in that game etched the White Ferns' names in history, especially for the players left of their golden generation, who finally got to lift an ICC trophy.
The end of an era, but the start of another
The T20 World Cup will be Sophie Devine, Suzie Bates and Lea Tahuhu’s final campaign for New Zealand. The trio have a combined experience of 439 T20Is, and along with Maddy Green, are the only players in the New Zealand squad who have played more than 100 T20Is.
Kerr will become the fifth from the 15 to reach that mark in their opening game of the tournament, which will also be her first ICC tournament as the White Ferns captain after taking over from Devine earlier this year.
As the world’s top-ranked all-rounder, still 25 years of age, Kerr has been in stupendous form since taking over as captain. She is by far her side’s top run-getter over the two-year period since the last World Cup final, with 629 runs in 14 matches at a strike-rate of 147.3. Among the batters in any team in the tournament, only openers have scored more than her in the two-year period, and only Shafali Verma has scored more runs at a quicker pace.
From her 43 against South Africa in the 2024 final, Kerr went on a record run of making 30+ scores in 11 consecutive matches, which included both of her T20I hundreds and culminated with a 55-ball 105 in the five-match series finale against South Africa, which they won 4-1.
However, they lost their three-match T20I series against England last month, going down 2-1. Despite the progress they've made in finding replacements for Devine and Bates, the depth beneath their big stars will be a concern for their success in the tournament.
Along with all that experience, off-spinning all-rounder Nensi Patel, hard-hitting batter Izzy Sharp, will be playing in their first World Cups, while for left-arm seamer Bree Illing, wicketkeeper-batter Polly Inglis and left-arm spinner Flora Devonshire, this will be their maiden T20 World Cups after featuring in the 50-over version last year.
Among them, Patel only made her T20I debut earlier this year against Zimbabwe and has since taken nine wickets in six matches at 9.88 and sports an economy of 4.04. She, along with her skipper and Devonshire, will handle the spin department. Jess Kerr, White Ferns’ top wicket-taker in the two-year cycle with 19 scalps, Rosemary Mair, Illing and the Tahuhu-Devine-Bates trio are the quicks in the team.
No group of death, but also no bed of roses
New Zealand’s path to the semi-final looks achievable given the side of the draw they've fallen on. They’ve been grouped alongside England, Sri Lanka, West Indies, Ireland and Scotland in Group 2, with a win against England or the West Indies potentially taking them through to the semifinal. But that’s easier said than done.
Three of their seven defeats over the last two years have come against England (1-2 in May 2026) and Sri Lanka (1-1 in March 2025). However, their last appearance against the West Indies was in the 2024 semi-final, which they won, continuing their record of one loss against West Indies in T20 World Cups since 2018.
New Zealand squad at the women’s T20 World Cup 2026
New Zealand: Amelia Kerr (c), Suzie Bates, Sophie Devine, Flora Devonshire, Izzy Gaze, Maddy Green, Brooke Halliday, Bree Illing, Polly Inglis, Jess Kerr, Rosemary Mair, Nensi Patel, Georgia Plimmer, Izzy Sharp, Lea Tahuhu.
New Zealand schedule at the women’s T20 World Cup 2026 (All timings local)
June 13, 6.30pm: v West Indies, Southampton
June 16, 2.30pm: v Sri Lanka, Southampton
June 19, 6.30pm: v Ireland, Southampton
June 23, 10.30am: v Scotland, Bristol
June 27, 6.30pm: v England, The Oval
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