Hawke's Bay schoolgirl cricketer Maneka Singh makes her debut for the New Zealand Emerging XI against the touring England Women's side today in Christchurch.
The 15-year-old Central Districts Hinds player was named in a 16-player squad with rookie White Fern Maddy Green at the helm as captain for the 50-over match against England, who will play the New Zealand Women later this month.
Coach Nathan King, of Dunedin, said last night the 16-player squad would be trimmed down to 14 in the next five days.
King said the whole idea was to expose the Emerging players to an international side to give them the opportunity to step up to the White Ferns' level.
"Some girls are more capable of going to the next level while others will have their chance in the future," he said, adding some of them were looking more useful as allrounders than others.
Hinds' allrounder Kate Broadmore is also in the Emerging side with fellow White Ferns Janet Brehaut and Natalie Dodd.
Singh, a left-armer who worked with Shane Bond this winter, has traditionally bowled with the wind on her back but this summer was thrust into the role of chugging into the wind at domestic level where she struggled to maintain her frugality from the previous two seasons.
"We'll use Maneka either as an opening bowler or a first change, depending on what the wind is doing," Otago Sparks coach King said.
The Hastings Girls' High School pupil has been part of the Emerging squad for the past two summers but hopes of making her debut against an Australian Emerging side at Lincoln last summer were stymied by the February 22 earthquake.
The Emerging team will also play two Twenty20 matches against England on Monday and Tuesday at Bert Sutcliffe Oval.
The games will be used as a warm-up for the England team as they acclimatise to New Zealand conditions before they begin their series against the White Ferns.
The White Ferns, with Bay-born Sara McGlashan, first play England in a televised T20 match at Westpac Stadium in Wellington.
NZC Emerging Players XI: Maddy Green (c), Georgia Guy, Lauren Down, Holly Huddleston (all Auckland Hearts); Victoria Abbott , Kylie Crowley (both Otago Sparks), Janet Brehaut, Meg Kendal (Canterbury Magicians); Melinda Hodgson, Deeana Doughty (both Wellington Blaze); Kate Broadmore, Maneka Singh (Central Districts Hinds), Natalie Dodd, Anna Petersen, Felicity Leydon-Davis, Brooke Kirkbride (ND Spirit).
England Women: Charlotte Edwards (c), Jenny Gunn, Tammy Beaumont, Arran Brindle, Georgia Elwiss, Lydia Greenway, Isa Guha, Danni Hazell, Heather Knight, Laura Marsh, Beth Morgan, Susie Rowe, Anya Shrubsole, Sarah Taylor, Danni Wyatt.