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New Zealand Women thrashed Zimbabwe Women in their first-ever tour, whitewashing 3-0 in both T20I and ODI legs. While the entire New Zealand team performed as a unit, the newly appointed skipper, Amelia Kerr, was their hero in her maiden full-time captaincy tenure. Her brilliant all-round performance in the third match not only helped the team win the match, but also sealed the ODI series 3-0.  She scored 80 runs with the bat and grabbed another brilliant five-fer against Zimbabwe Women. 

It all started with the departure of their former skipper, Sophie Devine, which led Amelia Kerr to take the full-time leadership duties of the White Ferns. In her first assignment as skipper, she led the team to dominate Zimbabwe Women, clinching it with a 3-0 margin. While Isabelle Gaze was the top performer in the T20I series, Amelia Kerr was leading from the front. She scored a whopping 183 runs in just 2 innings and grabbed 4 wickets. Amelia also scored her maiden T20I century of her career during the opening T20I match.

Continuing her dominance in the ODI leg, she performed exceptionally well throughout all three matches. Kerr might not have mammoth runs to her tally in the ODIs, but she dominated with her bowling. The Zimbabwe Women looked all clueless throughout their spell. Amelia Kerr scored 140 runs in three ODI innings, including a brilliant 80 in the final match. She also grabbed 16 wickets in this series, including a 7-fer in the second ODI match and a five-fer in the last match. 

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With the kind of performance she delivered, she was awarded the Player of the Match in both the T20I and ODI series. Being in the red-hot form and capitalizing on all the opportunities presented, she is expected to take the team to a greater height.

Sophie Devine announced her retirement from Women’s international cricket after the conclusion of the Women’s ODI World Cup, where the White Ferns had a terrible campaign. She took up the captaincy in 2020, where she led the White Ferns in 56 WODIs, winning in 18 matches. Moreover, she is the only New Zealand player and third overall to achieve the rare double of more than 4000 runs and 100 wickets in WODI cricket. 

Amelia Kerr, 25, is currently one of the best all-rounders in Women’s international cricket. Her capabilities with the batting and bowling play a vital role for the team. She also possesses a brilliant record in the limited overs cricket, having scored 2444 runs in 87 ODIs and 1636 runs in 91 T20Is. She has taken 122 wickets in ODIs and 99 wickets in T20Is so far.

She was exceptional in her captaincy tenure for the White Ferns against Zimbabwe Women. She not only led the team from the front but also utilized other players well on the field. Considering the Women’s T20 World Cup scheduled this year, New Zealand desperately needed a potentially good leader. New Zealand Women will play 5 T20Is and 3 ODIs at their home, it will offer a good long series to prepare for the upcoming ICC tournament.