On Monday morning, young Hawke’s Bay and Central Districts cricketer Flora Devonshire was supposed to be having her induction for her new summer job. That’s going to prove a little difficult now that she will be thousands of kilometres away in India instead.

Just 24 hours before the New Zealand Women’s Development cricket squad was due to fly out to India on Saturday, Devonshire got the call from Head Coach Sara McGlashan that a player had pulled out, and she was in. Cue the fastest packing of bags that the Hastings-born 19-year-old has ever performed.

A left-arm top order batter and allrounder, Devonshire was one of the standout players when Central Districts Under 19 won the NZC National Under 19 national trophy last season, and she played several matches for a New Zealand U19 Women’s squad in a short internal series last summer.

However, the new Development squad for the imminent tour against West Under 19 and India Under 19 in India was selected as a mix of Under 19 plus older emerging players, with Devonshire narrowly missing the cut - until Auckland allrounder Makayla Templeton withdrew on Friday.

The former Iona College pupil joins CD U19 teammates Ocean Bartlett, from Masterton, and Ashtuti Kumar, from Palmerston North, in the squad, while coach McGlashan is a Hawke’s Bay and Central Hinds old girl.

Emerging allrounders Bartlett and Kumar have already represented the Hinds, and the opportunity for Devonshire to test herself in India is another exciting opportunity to keep pushing her case to join them in the Domestic flagship team for Central Districts.

It’s the first time the 15-strong New Zealand Women’s development squad has ever gone on tour, and the squad includes players eligible to represent New Zealand at the first ever U19 Women’s World Cup next year, plus the handful of 'over-19’ players aiming to continue their development in new conditions.
New Zealand Cricket Head of Women’s High Performance, Liz Green - another former Central Hinds representative - said the tour, which comprises two T20 fixtures against West Indies and five against India, was another step towards growing the women’s high-performance pathway in New Zealand.

“This is an exciting time for New Zealand Cricket” said Green.

“The chance to travel to India, a place that lives and breathes cricket, and test themselves in new and challenging conditions, is a once in a lifetime opportunity, and one I’m sure all the players are relishing.

“Experiencing different conditions and countries is vital in a player’s development, particularly with the globalisation of the modern game, so this tour will give the players valuable experience and help them become better cricketers.

“It is also a great chance for players targeting a spot in the World Cup squad to put their hand up and prove that they’re ready.

“We have seen how valuable development and A tours have been in producing better cricketers in the men’s game, so we hope that this tour can have similar results in the women’s space.”

The squad departs for India today, Saturday November 19 ahead of the opening match against West Indies in Mumbai on November 22.

Meanwhile the Central Hinds have taken an early lunch at Pukekura Park, New Plymouth where wet weather has delayed the start of their 2022/23 Hallyburton Johnstone Shield one-day season.

A string of four matches abandoned without a ball bowled due to rain in New Plymouth and Wellington at the end of last summer prevented the Central Hinds from reaching the national final, but hope remains for this weekend with the possibility of a delayed start today, the umpires’ next inspection at 12.15pm.

The Central Hinds and Auckland Hearts meet again tomorrow (Sunday) at the same venue in Round Two, with livescores, free livestream and updates at www.cdcricket.co.nz from 10am.

New Zealand Women Development Squad:
Ocean Bartlett (Central Districts)
Emily Brosnahan (Otago)
Anna Browning (Auckland)
Prue Catton (Auckland)
Natasha Codyre (Wellington)
Flora Devonshire (Central Districts)
Olivia Gain (Otago)
Izzy Gaze (Auckland)
Abigale Gerken (Canterbury)
Amie Hucker (Auckland)
Breearne Illing (Auckland)
Paige Loggenberg (Otago)
Kayley Knight (Northern Districts)
Ashtuti Kumar (Central Districts)
Nensi Patel (Northern Districts)

New Zealand Women’s Development Tour of India
(all T20 matches)
Tuesday 22 November – v West Indies U19 (D.Y. Patil Sports Academy, Mumbai)
Thursday 24 November – v West Indies U19 (D.Y. Patil Sports Academy, Mumbai)
Sunday 27 November – v India U19 (Mumbai Cricket Association, Bandra Kurla Complex)
Tuesday 29 November – v India U19 (Mumbai Cricket Association, Bandra Kurla Complex)
Thursday 1 December – v India U19 (Mumbai Cricket Association, Bandra Kurla Complex)
Sunday 4 December – v India U19 (Mumbai Cricket Association, Bandra Kurla Complex)
Tuesday 6 December – v India U19 (Mumbai Cricket Association, Bandra Kurla Complex)

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