By JULIE ASH
Choosing a new captain is among the tasks facing facing national netball selectors before the return series against Australia in November.
Silver Ferns coach Ruth Aitken will today name the New Zealand team to face Australia in the three-test series in Australia.
She must also trim the squad from 18
to between 12 and 15.
In the past, teams have been allowed to name only 12 players.
But Australia has tweaked the rules for this series, so both sides can carry squads of 15.
Current Ferns captain Anna Rowberry is unavailable after knee surgery.
Aitken does not have to name her captain today, although the the captain has generally been announced at the same time as the team.
Belinda Colling and Lesley Nicol, who have both captained the side, are likely candidates, although Colling's being based in Scotland may count against her.
Nicol, who copped flak for being too "nice" during her reign, could easily return to the job after successfully captaining the champion Southern Sting side for the last few years.
She is also New Zealand's most-capped player.
Midcourter Adine Harper could also be in the running.
Harper has struggled in the past to cement a spot in the starting lineup, but with Rowberry out of the picture, she should get ample court time against Australia.
A former New Zealand under-21 captain, Harper has proven she has leadership skills and at only 25 could definitely be a captain of the future.
Shooting queen Irene van Dyk could also be a long-shot for the job.
Van Dyk, who has played 46 games for New Zealand and 72 for South Africa, captained her native country before moving to New Zealand in 2000.
It may go against the grain having a non-New Zealander at the helm, but van Dyk considers herself a Kiwi and was named sportswoman of the year at last year's Halberg awards.
Silver Ferns
Possible team: Irene van Dyk (Waikato), Belinda Colling (in Scotland), Jodi Te Huna (Canterbury), Adine Harper (Southland), Temepara Clark (North), Victoria Edward (Auckland Waitakere), Lesley Nicol (Southland), Laura Langman (Waikato), Anna Scarlett (Otago), Sheryl Scanlan (North), Vilimaina Davu (Canterbury), Joline Henry (Waikato)
