Women's Super Fours squads announced

The 2004 women's Super Fours squads have been announced, and two new captains - Laura Newton and Salliann Briggs - will be leading their respective teams.

Newton will captain the V team, while Briggs, England's Under-19 captain, has taken charge of the Super Strikers. They will be up against Charlotte Edwards's Knight Riders, and the Braves, captained by Clare Connor.

The Super Fours was launched in 2002, and is intended to bridge the gap between club and international cricket. It will be used as a warm-up for England's summer series against New Zealand, and this year there is a day set aside for a series of matches to be played under Twenty20 rules. These will take place at Hampshire's Rose Bowl on May 29.

"This year is incredibly exciting for the women's game and it's great to welcome Twenty20 cricket to both Super Fours and at international level," said Gill McConway, the ECB's executive director for women's cricket. "Super Fours will provide a platform for the best players to excel. Performing well will lead to an England call-up to face New Zealand this summer, and could lead to a World Cup call-up next winter."

The V Team Laura Newton (capt, Lancashire), Kathryn Doherty (Yorkshire), Dawn Holden (Nottinghamshire), Sian Philips (Lancashire), Dawn Prestidge (Yorkshire), Melissa Reynard (Yorkshire), Anna Spragg (Yorkshire), Laura Spragg (Yorkshire), Claire Taylor (Berkshire), Arran Brindle (Lancashire), Rachel Walsh (Lancashire), Helen Wardlaw (Yorkshire).

The Super Strikers Salliann Briggs (Yorkshire, capt), Claire Atkinson (Yorkshire), Kelly Evenson (Warwickshire), Jenny Gunn (Nottinghamshire), Laura Harper (Somerset), Kathryn Leng (Yorkshire), Sue Redfern (Yorkshire), Gill Richards (Nottinghamshire), Nicky Shaw (Nottinghamshire), Jane Smit (Nottinghamshire), Alexia Walker (Sussex), Nicky Myers (Nottinghamshire), Charlotte Horton (Nottinghamshire).

The Knight Riders Charlotte Edwards (Kent, capt), Lindsey Askew (Kent), Yvonne Craven (Kent), Lydia Greenway (Kent), Isa Guha (Berkshire), Laura Joyce (Yorkshire), Natalie Lane (Kent), Alexis Mannion (Essex), Beth Morgan (Middlesex), Ebony Rainford-Brent (Surrey), Clare Taylor (Yorkshire), Kirsty White (Hampshire), Beth Wild (Middlesex).

The Braves Clare Connor (Sussex, capt), Caroline Atkins (Sussex), Rosalie Birch (Sussex), Sarah Collyer (Somerset), Stephanie Davies (Somerset), Leanne Davis (Lancashire), Mandie Godliman (Sussex), Jackie Hawker (Somerset), Hannah Lloyd (Somerset), Laura Marsh (Sussex), Lucy Pearson (Staffs), Kathryn Brunt (Yorkshire), Sarah Clarke (Surrey).