New Zealand quick Rosemary Mair included in Melbourne Renegades squad

The 21-year-old replaces fellow compatriot Lea Tahuhu after she has missed the initial stages of the tournament due to an injury. Tahuhu injured herself during their tour to Australia which concluded last month. Mair is the only inclusion to the Gades’ squad replacing fast bowler Courtney Neale.

With Tahuhu not expecting to return anytime soon, it provides Mair an opportunity to prove her mettle at the top-most league for women in the world. The right-arm quick is one of the four New Zealand players who are a part of the replacement player pool, all living inside the WBBL village. On Sunday (November 1) Renegades head coach Lachlan Stevens has said that Tahuhu is only likely to be fit for the last four-five games.

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She was earlier picked up by Melbourne Stars as a replacement for England’s Katherine Brunt, who was doubtful initially. However, with Brunt making herself available, Mair went into the pool again allowing Renegades to include her up for Tuesday’s encounter. According to the tournament rules, each player in the replacement pool trains with the host club but can be picked up by any team.

Born in Napier, Mair has played for New Zealand in eight ODIs and 11 T20Is since her debut in 2019. She was also part of New Zealand’s T20 World Cup 2020 squad. As far as the WBBL06 is concerned, Renegades are languishing at the bottom of the table, impacted by rain hugely.

While Renegades had the opener against cross-town rivals Melbourne Stars abandoned midway, their clash versus Brisbane Heat was washed out without a ball being bowled. The Amy Satterthwaite-led side lost their next two games against Perth Scorchers and Sydney Sixers, both by Duckworth-Lewis Stern system.