Former Riverside duo Emma Manix-Geeves and Sophie Parkin and Kingborough’s Bonnie Davies will be charged with leading Tasmania women from the front that includes Northern high-fliers Meg Rafdord, Stacey Norton-Smith and Amy Duggan in Bendigo.

Tassie will play six T20s, three one-dayers and finals between January 14 and 24, and will be led by coach and newly-capped Tasmanian Tiger Alex Pyecroft.

“We’re pretty happy with the talent we’ve got and we’re hoping to see some good performances,” he said.

“We’ve got a group together that we’re pretty happy with, and we’re looking at a focus of developing female players in Tassie and driving them towards hopefully being selected for the Tigers some way down the track.” 

Manix-Geeves had been expected to play under-18s for the final time last year, but was cleared to play by Cricket Australia to assist the development of Tasmania’s bowlers. 

Norton-Smith and Duggan are top five in both Cricket North’s bowling and batting charts this season, while Parkin has been named skipper of the side following a promising first season for University in Hobart.

“The five Northern girls have all been on trips before so it’s another good experience for them,” Pyecroft said.

“They fit really well into the squad that we’ve got and have been performing really well in Hurricanes under-17 state championships and also for their clubs, so we’re pretty excited to see what they’ve got to offer the team.”