Kerr, Devine unavailable for opening T20I against England

Amelia Kerr and Sophie Devine will not be part of New Zealand's opening T20I against England, which gets underway in Dunedin on March 19.

Kerr, fresh off winning the Debbie Hockley Medal at the New Zealand Cricket awards, was part of the Mumbai Indians side that went down to Royal Challengers Bangalore in the WPL eliminator on Friday night. But "travel complications from India mean Kerr won't return to New Zealand in time to feature in the opening T20I", NZC said in a statement.

Devine, the New Zealand white-ball captain, scored a 27-ball 32 as RCB beat Delhi Capitals in the final to lift the WPL trophy. Devine and Kerr will link up with the New Zealand squad on Wednesday ahead of the second T20I in Nelson on March 22.

New Zealand have called up batters Georgia Plimmer and Mikaela Greig* into the squad as replacement. While Plimmer has played 12 ODIs and 21 T20Is for New Zealand, Greig is yet to make her international debut. Both Plimmer and Greig will remain in Dunedin after the first T20I and reassemble with the New Zealand A one-day squad ahead of the first 50-over match against England A on Saturday.

With Devine and Kerr unavailable, Suzie Bates will lead New Zealand in the opening T20I.

"It's obviously disappointing not to have Melie [Kerr] or Sophie with us for the series opener," New Zealand head coach Ben Sawyer said. "We've known that this could be the case for some time now, so we've made plans for all scenarios and the positive is that it gives other players an opportunity to test themselves against a strong England side."

Sawyer also threw his weight behind Plimmer and Greig. "Georgia has been a regular part of our group for some time now and she'll be involved in the ODIs - so we have full confidence she can come in and contribute in the opening T20I," he said.

"Mikaela has been impressive for the Central Hinds all summer and deserves an opportunity to join the group for the first time. She's shown this season that she possesses power and hitting ability which are important qualities in T20 cricket and we believe she has the ability to contribute if selected in the XI tomorrow."

England also have four players unavailable for the first three (of five) T20Is because of their WPL commitments. Alice Capsey (Delhi Capitals), Sophie Ecclestone (UP Warriorz), Nat Sciver-Brunt (Mumbai Indians) and Danni Wyatt (Warriorz) will only link up with the squad ahead of the fourth T20I. Kate Cross (RCB) has been named only for the ODI series while Issy Wong (Mumbai Indians) did not find a place in either squad.

Lauren Bell (Warriorz) and Heather Knight (RCB) had earlier pulled out of their WPL deals to make themselves available for the entire New Zealand white-ball series since the ECB had told the players involved in the WPL that staying in India until the tournament is complete would mean non-selection for the first three T20Is in New Zealand.

Suzie Bates (capt), Bernadine Bezuidenhout (wk), Izzy Gaze (wk), Eden Carson, Maddy Green, Mikaela Greig, Brooke Halliday, Fran Jonas, Jess Kerr, Rosemary Mair, Georgia Plimmer, Hannah Rowe, Lea Tahuhu