England Women Squad to face New Zealand

The England Women's selectors have named a thirteen-man squad to face New Zealand in a NatWest Women's Series, comprising six one-day internationals and three NatWest Women's International Twenty20 matches throughout August.

Charlotte Edwards will lead the side which has only one change from the squad that toured India in February. Nicola Shaw returns from injury to take on the vice-captaincy after the retirement of Laura Newton in May.

Under the guidance of new Head Coach Mark Dobson, England will contest the series under a brand new management team. Vince Wells has been appointed as Assistant Coach and Jane Morris has been recalled as England Manager.

Dobson said: "It's a very exciting time for me as Head Coach. We have a fine squad of players with a great blend of youth and experience which will be well-led by our inspirational captain Charlotte Edwards.

"Vince has been appointed as Assistant Coach. He has an extensive background in professional cricket having captained Leicester for four years. Since retiring he has been coaching at various levels in both men's and women's cricket. We played for some years together at Kent and have always maintained a good working relationship throughout our cricketing careers. He'll be a huge asset to the team and I'm excited about working with him again."

Wells played professionally as an all rounder for Kent County Cricket Club from 1987 to 1991 before joining Leicestershire in 1992. He played at the East Midlands club for 12 seasons, captaining the side for four, before moving north to Durham to finish his playing career. Since retiring he has been one of the coaches working with Kent Academy players as well as assisting with the Kent U15 and U17 squads. He has also helped coach the U15 and U17 Kent women's sides as well as the Kent senior side.

He stated: "I'm really looking forward to joining the women's set-up. I've been really impressed by the standard of the Super 4s this year and also by the ever-improving standard at Kent over the past few years. I'm really excited about working with that ability and improving the players even further, looking ahead to the forthcoming Ashes series and the World Cup in 2009."

Captain Edwards added: "I'm really pleased we've shown some consistency within our selection, choosing to keep the same squad that travelled to India. Although it was a disappointing tour, I have a lot of faith that we'll be able to turn things around this summer against a very strong New Zealand side.

"I'm really pleased to welcome Jane back into the fold as England Manager. She's had a huge amount of experience within England teams and I am thoroughly looking forward to working with her this summer.

"It's a really exciting time for the players, having a whole new invigorated management team with
plenty of enthusiasm and new ideas. It's going to be an enthralling summer and we can't wait for it
to get started."



Squad:


Charlotte EDWARDS (C)  KENT

Nicola SHAW (VC) NOTTINGHAMSHIRE

Lynsey ASKEW KENT

Caroline ATKINS SUSSEX

Holly COLVIN SUSSEX

Lydia GREENWAY KENT

Isa GUHA BERKSHIRE

Jennifer GUNN NOTTINGHAMSHIRE

Laura MARSH SUSSEX

Beth MORGAN MIDDLESEX

Jane SMIT NOTTINGHAMSHIRE

Sarah TAYLOR SUSSEX

Claire TAYLOR BERKSHIRE