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England Women’s IT20 and ODI series begin on Tuesday 19th March with the last of the eight matches concluding on Sunday 7th April
England Women’s first assignment of 2024 is a trip to New Zealand, Aotearoa, with an ‘A’ series running alongside.
A total of eight Vipers have been selected across the two tours, with Georgia Adams, Freya Kemp, and Rhianna Southby all part of the England A squad, whilst Maia Bouchier, Charlie Dean, Lauren Bell, Linsey Smith, and Danni Wyatt are all set to play a part with full international honours.
England Women’s series consists of five IT20s and three ODIs, with the first match starting at midnight in the UK on 19th March in Dunedin.
The ODI leg of the tour, which begins on 1st April, will see matches start at 11am local time and 11pm the night before in the UK.
Smith, who is part of the IT20 squad for the first three matches, is eager about the possibility of earning another England cap after a five-year gap since her last international appearance.
She said: “Should the opportunity come and I get to play, it’s something I’m really excited for.
“To be back in and around the squad is something that I spoke to Charlotte Edwards and Adam Carty about when I made the move back to the Vipers, so to be picked in the squad itself is something that’s really exciting and I’m really looking forward to.”
New Zealand’s squad is led by former Viper and Hampshire all-rounder Suzie Bates, with experienced bowlers Lea Tahuhu and Hannah Rowe leading the attack with the ball, and Bates herself along with Maddy Green spearheading the batting lineup.
A clash with the Women’s Premier League, which finished on 17th March, has led to a few players on both sides being out of contention for the first few matches.
Danni Wyatt is only included in England Women’s squad for final two IT20s before the ODIs, along with Alice Capsey, Nat Sciver-Brunt, and Sophie Ecclestone.
Whilst New Zealand have only named their squad for the first IT20, they are missing both Amelia Kerr and Sophie Devine who played for Mumbai Indians and champions Royal Challengers Bangalore respectively, but are expected to return to the White Ferns for the latter stages of the IT20 leg.
“There’s plenty of strong names in every team these days which is great for the game,” said Smith, “especially in T20 cricket where you want exciting games.
“I think coming up against them in numerous competitions now makes it less daunting, that you can play against these world-class players in competitions like The Hundred and the WBBL, not just when playing international cricket.
“It’ll definitely be a challenge, but one that I feel prepared for and excited to take on.”
Over the winter, Smith has been plying her trade in the WBBL for Charlotte Edwards’ Sydney Sixers, where she picked up 11 wickets in as many matches, with the lowest economy rate in the team of just 6.42 runs per over.
She then hopped across ‘the ditch’ to New Zealand to play for Otago Sparks along with fellow Viper PJ Watkins, where both players claimed eight wickets each.
Smith said: “I think [playing in the Super Smash] will benefit me in terms of players we’ll be coming up against, and some of the grounds we’ll be playing at will be familiar which is nice.
“It was a fun tournament, the Otago girls were really nice and welcoming, they looked after me well!”
England Women’s series against New Zealand starts at 1pm local time, midnight UK time on Tuesday 19th March, whilst England A are two matches into their three-match T20 series, before the List A leg of the tour.
You can find a full schedule of England Women and England A Women’s series below.
March 10th – New Zealand v England A Women (New Zealand won by 15 runs)
March 12th– New Zealand v England A Women (New Zealand won by six wickets)
March 14th– New Zealand A v England Women (England Women won by 57 runs)
March 16th– New Zealand A v England A Women (England A Women won by 30 runs)
March 17th– New Zealand A v England A Women (England A Women won by eight wickets)
March 19th– New Zealand v England Women – 1st IT20 (1pm local time, 12am UK time)
March 20th– New Zealand A v England A Women (1pm local time, 12am UK time)
March 22nd– New Zealand v England Women – 2nd IT20 (1pm local time, 12am UK time)
March 23rd– New Zealand A v England A Women (11am local time, 10pm -1 day UK time)
March 24th– New Zealand v England Women – 3rd IT20 (1pm local time, 12am UK time)
March 27th– New Zealand v England Women – 4th IT20 (1pm local time, 12am UK time)
March 28th– New Zealand A v England A Women (11am local time, 10pm -1 day UK time)
March 29th– New Zealand v England Women – 5th IT20 (1pm local time, 12am UK time)
March 30th– New Zealand A v England A Women (11am local time, 10pm -1 day UK time)
April 1st– New Zealand v England Women – 1st ODI (11am local time, 11pm -1 day UK time)
April 4th– New Zealand v England Women – 2nd ODI (11am local time, 11pm -1 day UK time)
April 7th– New Zealand v England Women – 3rd ODI (11am local time, 12am UK time)
Southern Vipers tickets are now on sale, including two double header matches at Utilita Bowl alongside Hampshire Hawks!
The regional double champions play five times at Utilita Bowl in 2024, with trips across the south to Wormsley, Newbury, Arundel, and Hove.
Southern Vipers kick off their Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy and Charlotte Edwards Cup title defences on 20th April and 18th May respectively.
Utilita Bowl hosts five Vipers matches, including two double headers with Hampshire Hawks on Thursday 30 May and Friday 14 June.
The Vipers also return to three outgrounds in Wormsley, Arundel Castle, and Falkland CC, along with two trips to the 1st Central County Ground in 2024.
To the Southern Vipers' full fixture list, visit the link below.
Memberships for 2024 are on sale, from £210 for a standard membership, whilst junior and young adult memberships start at only £25.
A Hampshire Cricket Membership provides the chance to be part of the Hampshire Cricket family and incorporates a whole host of exciting benefits for 2024, including free entry to all Southern Vipers matches at Utilita Bowl.
To see more about Hampshire Cricket’s membership offerings, please visit the link below.
