The WHITE FERNS will begin their build-up to the ICC Women’s World Cup 2017 with a home summer comprising eight One Day Internationals, including the first women’s ODI to be played in Auckland for 12 years.
The last three ODIs of a five match series against Pakistan in November will offer Suzie Bates’ squad the opportunity to collect valuable ICC Women’s Championship points and cement automatic entry for next year’s tournament, to be staged in England.
Under the terms of the ICC Women’s Championship, the four top-ranked sides will head straight through to the tournament-proper, while the bottom four will be pitched into an ICC Women’s World Cup qualifying tournament.
The WHITE FERNS summer schedule sees Pakistan visiting before Christmas for five ODIs and a stand-alone T20, and the Australian women’s squad touring in late February to defend their Rose Bowl title.
The first game of that Rose Bowl series will be played on 26 February at Eden Park’s Outer Oval – the first time Auckland has hosted a women’s ODI since Belinda Clark’s Australians beat Maia Lewis’ WHITE FERNS by 78 runs in the first match of the 2003-04 Rose Bowl.
The WHITE FERNS will also be in action on the other side of the Tasman when they take on the Commonwealth Bank Southern Stars in a three-match T20 series.
The Pakistan women have only visited New Zealand once before - in 1997, losing both ODIs. The WHITE FERNS have also prevailed in the only two other internationals between the sides, winning in pool play at the 2009 and 2013 ICC Women’s’ World Cups, respectively.
Pakistan will play the first three games of the five match ODI Series at Lincoln, before moving to Nelson’s Saxton Oval for the final two ODIs and the stand-alone T20.
The WHITE FERNS will then head to Australia for the trans-Tasman T20 series in February before returning for the three Rose Bowl Series contests, the final two of which will be played at Mt Maunganui’s Bay Oval.
The Rose Bowl Series, to be played after the cut-off date for ICC Women’s World Championship points, will be the last ODIs for the WHITE FERNS ahead of the ICC Women’s World Cup 2017.
See full schedule.
