World Cup-winning captain Heather Knight will lead a 16-strong England Women squad to New Zealand for a trip that will see her side play three one-day internationals and three Twenty20 matches against the White Ferns, it was announced Thursday.
A team coached by former Australia international Lisa Keightley will fly to New Zealand ahead of fixtures to be played in February and March.
But senior pace bowler Anya Shrubsole has been ruled out after suffering a knee injury, while Katie George has been sidelined with a stress fracture in her back.
Left-arm seamer Tash Farrant, who impressed in the first year of the domestic Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy is included, while Sophia Dunkley retains her place after appearing in England's last international at home to the West Indies.
The coronavirus pandemic threatened to scupper the 2020 season for England Women, with India and South Africa both withdrawing from scheduled tours because of the pandemic.
Meanwhile, England's defence of their 50-over World Cup title was pushed back to 2022 as a result of Covid-19.
But a hastily arranged Twenty20 series at home to the West Indies behind closed doors in Derby saw England complete a 5-0 clean sweep.
Heather Knight (captain), Tammy Beaumont, Katherine Brunt, Kate Cross, Freya Davies, Sophia Dunkley, Sophie Ecclestone, Georgia Elwiss, Tash Farrant, Sarah Glenn, Amy Jones (wkt), Nat Sciver, Mady Villiers, Fran Wilson, Lauren Winfield-Hill, Danni Wyatt
(Published 14 January 2021, 07:07 IST)
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