Key names back for Black Sticks

BLACK STICKS women’s coach Mark Hager has picked his strongest available team for next week’s Oceania Cup in Stratford.

Hager named his 18-strong squad on Wednesday for the tournament against Australia and Samoa, which runs from next Wednesday to Sunday. Fiji have pulled out and have been replaced by a New Zealand invitational team, who only face Samoa.

After missing the drawn series with Argentina, which finished in Christchurch last Friday, a handful of familiar faces are back in the fold for the Oceania Cup, including skilful midfielder Stacey Michelsen, veteran goalkeeper Sally Rutherford, national league MVP Brooke Neal, Ella Gunson and Jordan Grant.

Auckland striker Charlotte Harrison, who has 177 caps and is one of the top five Kiwi goal Black Sticks women (caps in brackets): Sam Charlton (140), Sophie Cocks (69), Amelia Gibson (39), Jordan Grant (55), Ella Gunson (121), Pippa Hayward (74), Charlotte Harrison (177), Kat Henry (21), Rose Keddell (91), Julia King (86), Olivia Merry (97), Stacey Michelsen (180), Brooke Neal (56), Kirsten Pearce (21), Anita Punt (c) (209), Sally Rutherford (96), Liz Thompson (79), Petrea Webster (116). scorers of all-time, confirmed her return and North Harbour defender Kat Henry earned her place in the squad with strong showings against Argentina. Henry will fill the hole left by vastly experienced defender Emily Naylor, who remains unavailable through injury.

Striker Gemma Flynn has been ruled out for personal reasons, while former captain Kayla Whitelock has been deemed to not be back to full fitness after returning to the game during last month’s national league.

Players to miss out from the new national squad named last month are 134-test striker Katie Glynn, defender Natasha Fitzsimons and young goalkeeper Georgia Barnett.

While the Oceania Cup doubles as an Olympic qualifier and strong tournament favourites New Zealand and Australia have already secured their places in Rio, valuable world ranking points are up for grabs in Stratford.

It is also an important part of their build-up for the World League Final tournament in Argentina in December, Hager said.

‘‘This is a critical tournament for us – we need to perform well and make sure we achieve our targets and secure world ranking points.’’