The Hallyburton Johnstone Shield-winning Northern Districts Women’s side has named the first 12 contracted players for the 2026/27 season. The squad is mostly familiar, with a key name returning to the list for the first time since the 2023/24 season: Lucy Boucher is back! A maiden domestic contract has been awarded to young gun Rishika Jaswal.
GM of Performance and Talent, Ian Sandbrook, is delighted to build on the momentum of the last three seasons under the guidance of Head Coach Peter Borren. “We’re really pleased with our overall contracted player list for 2026-27. It’s a well-balanced unit with a growing cohort of really talented players that are making their mark on the domestic scene” he said.
The talented group picked up the first ever Hallyburton Johnstone Shield championship for the Association last season. That’s no fluke. “A strength of our programme has been a stable group that have grown together” said Sandbrook. “We’re seeing the benefits of that now, both in terms of individual player progression but also results as a team.”
Boucher, a right-arm medium-pace bowler, made a serious impression during her comeback. “Lucy has earned her contract on the back of a strong return to domestic cricket last season” says Sandbrook. That return saw her take 10 wickets at an average of 17 in the HBJ including best figures of 4/21 against the Wellington Blaze. In the Super Smash, she took 8 wickets at 18 and enjoyed another 4-wicket haul with 4/16 against the Otago Sparks. To round off the stats, she amassed 8 catches in the HBJ – the most non-keeper catches in the competition.
Rishika Jaswal joins the Association following a domestic debut for Auckland in 2023/24 and having represented the NZ U19s at the U19 World Cup in 2025. Still just 19 years of age, Rishika provides a point of difference with her leg spin bowling.
Cracking the highest number of 6s across both the HBJ and Super Smash Competitions in 2025/26, Jess Watkin will captain the side once again. She’s excited to see what’s next for the team. “It’s so cool to look back at how far we’ve come, and it’s also easy to get excited for where we’re headed next” she said. “We have a special group of girls here and that hunger to improve is huge throughout the squad. Lucy is a great comeback story, and we’re all looking forward to bringing Rishika into the fold.”
ND all-rounder Nensi Patel has been contracted for the WHITEFERNS and retains her affiliation to ND for domestic cricket.
Yaz Kareem, who has been contracted to ND for the past three seasons, will make the move to Central Districts for the 2026/27 summer. Watkin wishes Kareem well on the next stage of her journey. “We’ll miss Yaz’s stylish batting and her commitment to our squad, and just want to say a huge thank you to her for all she’s done at ND. And of course, we all hope she does well down at CD” she said.
The 13th women’s contract will be announced in the coming weeks.
Northern Districts Women 2026/27 Contracted Players (First round)
- Lucy Boucher*
- Skye Bowden
- Sophie Court
- Marama Downes
- Caitlin Gurrey
- Rishika Jaswal**
- Kayley Knight
- Marina Lamplough
- Holly Topp
- Tash Wakelin
- Jess Watkin
- Eve Wolland
*Returning to Northern Districts contract list
**First domestic contract
Head Coach: Peter Borren
WHITE FERNS Contracted Player
WHITE FERNS contracted player who also plays for Northern Districts when available.
- Nensi Patel
