New Zealand unveils full squads for World Cup

Indoor Cricket New Zealand have named their final squads for all four of their sides for the World Cup in Sri Lanka this September. The announcement was made at the presentations for the Senior Provincial Championships in Wellington last night.

In total, 49 players, 13 coaching staff and management were named, meaning a contingent of more than 60 will travel for the tournament. The Open Women and Under-22 Men also named two non-travelling reserves each.

Open Men

Central Districts’ Todd Watson will captain the side again, leading the 13-man squad to Colombo, with an additional player in the team for cover due to some injury concerns at the provincial tournament.

Watson will be joined by six other players from the side that contested the Tri-Series against Australia and South Africa last year in Adelaide - Mitchell Gardner, Ryan Jackson, Matthew Latham, Victor Davies, and Stacy Hyndman, who will be playing in his fifth World Cup. Braden Gardner was also included despite being unavailable for the provincial tournament due to injury.

Davies, who has appeared in 57 matches for the Men’s side, is in line to become New Zealand’s most capped player at Men’s international level during the tournament. He will surpass coach Leigh Kelly, who was capped on 58 occasions.

Michael Barry comes back into the team after taking a break from playing last year, as does Micah Conroy, who was unavailable due to playing commitments overseas last season. Shaneil Sharma will play for the first time since his only appearance for New Zealand at the 2014 World Cup - he was originally included in the Tri-Series squad but had to pull out due to injury. Dion Joll also comes back into the team after last featuring at the previous World Cup in Melbourne in 2022.

Central’s Liam McCarthy’s impressive tournament has landed him an elevation from the Under-22 Men up to the Senior side for the first time, whilst Canterbury provincial debutant Jack Mockford also did enough to impress team selectors and earn a maiden international debut.

From the 2024 Tri-Series side, Benjamin Jackett, Curtis Millard, and Swayam Desai were not selected. Nick Ward, Baylee Latter, as well as Toby Findlay were unavailable for selection.

New Zealand Open Men: 2025 World Cup Squad

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Management:

Leigh Kelly (Head Coach)

Nathan Daley (Assistant Coach)

Sunnie Chan (Bowling Coach)

Tony Watkins (Manager)

Open Women

The Open Women will go in with a significantly different side to the one that last took the court against Australia in October 2023, featuring at least six debutants. Marama Downes will captain the side again, with Tatiana Gibbs appointed vice-captain.

Both Downes and Gibbs, along with Hannah Kells, and Saffron Wilson were the only players in the side that played the series on the Gold Coast. Veteran Rosalind (Roz) McNeill comes back into the team after she played the Masters’ series which preceded the Open Women’s during that period, as well as the Masters World Series last year, whilst Gemma Krebs, who played at the previous World Cup, is also included.

Wellington’s Rachel Bryant, who was the highest wicket taker and had the highest average contribution at the provincial tournament, has earned her maiden international selection. Also in line to make their debuts are Katriel Thomas, Hannah Francis, Anika Todd, Phoenix Williams, and Clair Crooks.

It is understood that a number of players were unavailable for selection for a variety of reasons. Notable omissions from the squad include Lucille Matthews, Skye Bowden, Xara Jetly, Amberley Parr-Thomson, and Bree Illing, who recently earned a contract with the White Ferns.

Jetly played in the 2023 series, alongside Aria Mischewski, Brooke James, Katie Morris, Antonia Hamilton, Sonia Marriott, and Aniela Apperley.

Despite missing a number of players, coach Robin James said he had a young, exciting team with six players (Downes, Wilson, Williams, Francis, Bryant and Todd) currently playing domestic outdoor cricket for their provinces.

Robert Hyndman has joined up with the side as Assistant Coach.

New Zealand Open Women: 2025 World Cup Squad

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Non-Travelling Reserves:

Claire Mains (Auckland)

Makayla Mason-Jones (Auckland)

Management:

Robin James (Head Coach)

Robert Hyndman (Assistant Coach)

Kim Scott (Manager)

Under-22 Men

The Under-22 Men’s coaching staff have opted for stability in their side, retaining nine players from the squad that contested the Tri-Series last year.

That team includes Harlin Amaral, who has made his Senior debut already and will be playing a third series for the Under-22 side, Jack Gaskin, Jacob Duker, Sam Clode, Finn McQueen, Jerome Robinson, Charlie Pawson, and Josh Young. Paceman Tyler Annand, who earned a contract with the Central Districts domestic side, is also included.

Northern Districts pair Billy Syme and Reuben Carter will make their debuts, as will Rikesh Patel from Auckland. Seb Heath drops out, as does David Kingham, who is a non-travelling reserve.

Whilst they lost the Tri-Series final to Australia, the New Zealand side will go into the World Cup as defending champions.

New Zealand Under-22 Men: 2025 World Cup Squad

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Non-Travelling Reserves:

David Kingham (Northern Districts)

Ethan Robinson (Central Districts)

Management:

Paul Anderson (Coach)

James Kirk (Coach)

Daniel Batley (Coach)

Under-22 Women

Kaitlyn Halliday will captain a new look Under-22 Women’s side, looking to defend the title they won in Melbourne in 2022.

Halliday was the only player in New Zealand’s victorious World Cup side.

There will be 10 players making their debut, and a new coach, with Darren Hickson appointed to take the reigns for the tournament. Jess Ramage remains with the side as Assistant Coach.

The debutant players include Bree James, Addison Stackhouse, Greta Abbott, Meg Moffatt, Neena Woollaston, Olivia Crowe, Leah Wotton and Esme Olney-Boyd, Dayle Anderson, and Nell McCrystal.

This year’s provincial tournament had 10 Women’s sides competing across both divisions, representing a larger pool of players for selection than has previously been the case.

New Zealand Under-22 Women: 2025 World Cup Squad

*Debut

Management:

Darren Hickson (Coach)

Jess Ramage (Assistant Coach)

Katrina Wenborn-Farmer (Manager)

Umpires:

Scott Van Syp

Sean Sunderland

Jason Swensson

Michael Guest

Image: Getty Images for Cricket Australia