2026 New Zealand Women's Tour Of England: ODI Review & T20I Preview
The White Ferns continue their impressive start to the Melie Kerr era with a 1-1 ODI series draw against England falling into their 6-2 record this year. The tour of England now moves into T20I mode ahead of the T20 World Cup and that means a few tweaks to the squad, as well as shifts in form for a few players.
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There are four batters leading the way for White Ferns in ODIs this year and that was on show against England. Maddy Green, A-Kerr, Brooke Halliday and Izzy Gaze were the leading run-scorers against England, as well as being the only White Ferns with 100+ runs in ODIs this year. None of them had strike-rates over 90 in the series vs England but Green, A-Kerr and Halliday have stayed above 90sr this year and Gaze is on 110sr.
Here's their ODI mahi vs England, this year and how they are tracking under A-Kerr's captaincy...
Maddy Green
vs England: 125 runs @ 62.5avg/83sr
2026: 552 runs @ 92avg/98sr
A-Kerr captain: 71avg/92sr
Melie Kerr
vs England: 56 runs @ 28avg/64sr
2026: 411 runs @ 58.7avg/91sr
As captain: 49.8avg/87sr
Brooke Halliday
vs England: 48 runs @ 48avg/75sr
2026: 365 runs @ 73avg/97sr
A-Kerr captain: 61.1avg/90sr
Izzy Gaze
vs England: 33 runs @ 33avg/75sr
2026: 242 runs @ 48.4avg/110sr
A-Kerr captain: 43.8avg/106sr
All four are doing better under A-Kerr's captaincy than they were under previous captains. A-Kerr is the leading run-scorer for White Ferns in T20Is this year and Gaze is second, while Green has been solid. Halliday is still the most interesting batting for Aotearoa in T20Is as there is a significant difference between her ODI and T20I batting which is crystal clear in her career stuff of 34avg/79sr in ODIs and 14.7avg/98sr in T20Is.
Halliday is the only White Ferns batter with 10+ runs and a strike-rate below 130 this year. That highlights how the kiwis have increased their scoring speeds and intrigue for how Halliday performs against England as she is already locked in as a 1st 11 batter across both formats. Here's their T20I stats this year…
Melie Kerr: 459 runs @ 76.5avg/166sr
Izzy Gaze: 219 runs @ 43.8avg/141sr
Maddy Green: 77 runs @ 25.6avg/130sr
Brooke Halliday: 73 runs @ 18.2avg/104sr
A-Kerr is averaging 50+ in both formats this year. Gaze is averaging 40+ in both formats and she has strike-rates over 110 in both formats. This is especially funky for Gaze who is the most aggressive batter for White Ferns and will operate as the lead wicket-keeper in the upcoming T20Is, fighting off the challenge from Polly Inglis over the last 12 months.
Rosemary Mair, Bree Illing, A-Kerr, Nensi Patel and Jess Kerr all took 2+ wickets in the ODIs vs England. Both Kerr sisters and Mair have 10+ wickets with averages below 30 this year, while Illing continues to provide sneaky x-factor as a lefty and Patel has had the quickest rise through White Ferns ranks this year.
Here's a round up of their ODI bowling stuff vs England and this year, plus their T20I bowling stats this year...
Rosemary Mair
vs England: 5w @ 16.6avg/4.8rpo
2026 ODIs: 14w @ 21.3avg/5rpo
2026 T20Is: 2w @ 81avg/6.4rpo
Bree Illing
vs England: 3w @ 20avg/3.6rpo
2026 ODIs: 8w @ 32avg/4.6rpo
2026 T20Is: 2w @ 35avg/5.3rpo
Nensi Patel
vs England: 2w @ 28.5avg/4.3rpo
2026 ODIs: 5w @ 31.8avg/3.7rpo
2026 T20Is: 6w @ 9.5avg/3.5rpo
Melie Kerr
vs England: 3w @ 31.3avg/5.8rpo
2026 ODIs: 23w @ 13.9avg/4.7rpo
2026 T20Is: 9w @ 17.4avg/5.8rpo
Jess Kerr
vs England: 2w @ 36avg/4.2rpo
2026 ODIs: 10w @ 29.6avg/4.7rpo
2026 T20Is: 13w @ 12.4avg/5.4rpo
J-Kerr, A-Kerr and Patel have been slick in both formats this year with the ball. Illing has been solid but appears to slide down the depth chart in T20Is with Mair and Lea Tahuhu playing more games this year. Mair is the most interesting player in this mix because she is the second busiest seamer behind J-Kerr in T20Is this year and she is the only White Ferns bowler averaging over 36, well over that mark on 81.
Mair is similar to Halliday in her splits between formats but the key difference is that she has been a better T20I bowler throughout her career with 37.8avg/5.2rpo in ODIs and 28.6avg/6.6rpo in T20Is. That stems from Mair averaging below 27 in five consecutive years to start her T20I career and since the start of 2025 she has blown out for her worst years of T20I bowling...
Before 2025: 22.1avg/6.3rpo
Since start of 2025: 89.3avg/7.3rpo
This year Mair has a wicket in two of her seven games and she has a wicket in three of her 11 T20I innings since the start of 2025. She is likely to be a 1st 11 seamer in this T20I phase coming up but White Ferns have plenty of bowling options and all-round skills to offer competition for selection.
Georgia Plimmer's 27 runs @ 13.5avg/64sr in two ODI innings against England is aligned with her 15.8avg/69sr in ODIs this year. That flips to decent T20I performances this year with 26avg/133sr and there won't be any change to the Plimmer/Gaze opening combo against England.
The lower order batting pocket is still the most intriguing T20I thing for White Ferns right now. The top-six of Plimmer, Gaze, A-Kerr, Devine, Halliday and Green is the best Aotearoa can dish up. Then there are five-six players competing for four spots in the 1st 11 assuming that Tahuhu is locked in as a seamer who will probably bat 11th.
In their last T20I, White Ferns had Izzy Sharp, J-Kerr, Flora Devonshire and Patel filling the spots in focus. Suzie Bates and Rosemary Mair played four of the five games vs South Africa before dropping out for the fifth game, with these selections reflecting the performances of these players in T20Is.
White Ferns can have a seam bowling group of Tahuhu, Devine and J-Kerr with Devine and J-Kerr offering powerful batting. Mair is the worst T20I bowler for White Ferns right now so she could be outside the 1st 11, but she has enjoyed regular selection over the past year.
Sharp is an emerging batter who has a T20I strike-rate of 138 this year and she is well equipped to play as a lower order batter. This leaves Bates competing with Patel and Devonshire for the spinny all-rounder roles, alongside A-Kerr. Bates will probably enjoy 1st 11 selection along with Patel, leaving Devonshire as the next best in this position.
Bates has been the most expensive T20I bowler for White Ferns this year (8.8rpo) and she is the only bowler over 7.5rpo. Patel and Devonshire were more effective than Bates in limited doses vs South Africa, plus Bates' biggest batting issue in T20Is over the last five years has been her slow strike-rate and she is now being primed for a role that is all about strike-rates.
Fortunately for Bates, we haven't seen enough of Patel or Devonshire with the bat in T20Is to shout out that they are better than her in this role. Patel (9.5avg) and Devonshire (15.5avg) are both well below Bates' 40.6avg in T20I bowling since the start of 2025, but some of that features the dominant series vs Zimbabwe that Bates didn't play.
The most likely situation is Bates and Patel in the team together, with Devonshire chasing an opportunity. This has the potential to get pretty awkward though because Bates departed the ODI arena struggling for runs and wickets against England, as well as in her last few years of ODI cricket.
Her T20I stuff has also dipped away in recent years which led to her moving down the order where there was less pressure on her batting. Bates' T20I bowling role has revolved around a defensive plan to target the pads and limit scoring, although that hasn't been very effective and she averages 2 overs a game this year so she isn't a top-tier bowling option.
There is now ruthless competition for spots in both formats for White Ferns and this is another aspect of how exciting the Melie Kerr era is. The spin pocket is a fabulous example of this because Fran Jonas and Eden Carson were notable contributors during the last T20 World Cup, now they have been overtaken by other spinners who are better batters and really good fielders.
The ODI series also lays this out because White Ferns were rolled 0-8 by England in their last tour and Aotearoa had all their legends in that tour. England were also well stocked with their best players and now, when both teams dipped into their emerging talent, White Ferns fought back from losing their first game by a teeny margin, to level the series with a win in the third game.
Since the last T20 World Cup, players like Sharp, Illing, Patel and Devonshire have added to the White Ferns group. Others like Green, Gaze and J-Kerr keep getting better and A-Kerr continues her journey towards being New Zealand's greatest female cricketer ever. While the T20 World Cup is the main focus now, White Ferns have a chance to add more wins to their stash under A-Kerr's captaincy and show that Aotearoa can be a force in women's cricket again.
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Peace and love.