Two new caps have been named and Joline Henry recalled to the New Zealand netball squad to contest the Constellation Cup series starting next month against Australia.
The uncapped players are defender Te Huinga Reo Selby-Rickit, 24, and her Southern Steel teammate, midcourter Courtney Tairi.
Tairi, born in Sydney to New Zealand parents, is a former Australian under-21 representative.
The 25-year-old played for the New South Wales Swifts in the trans-Tasman netball league before moving to the Southern Steel last year.
Also named in the 12-strong squad is midcourter Henry, who returns after a one-year absence due to pregnancy.
Defender Casey Kopua is again the captain and fellow-veteran Laura Langman the vice-captain for the five-Test trans-Tasman series in September and October.
Forty one-year old goal shoot Irene van Dyk will again carry the shooting load in her 20th season of international netball.
The three players omitted from coach Waimarama Taumaunu's wider 15-player squad are defender Kayla Cullen, uncapped midcourter Katarina Cooper and shooter Anna Thompson.
Versatile youngster Cullen was ruled out by a serious knee injury suffered this week in the lead-up to the world youth championships in Scotland.
Taumaunu has called Southern Steel midcourter Shannon Francois into the wider squad alongside Cooper and Thompson.
She expects that trio to get game time in the three-Test home series against Malawi in October and the Fast5 world series in Auckland in November.
The Constellation Cup begins with Tests in Invercargill (September 15) and Auckland (September 19) before fixtures in Adelaide, Melbourne and Canberra in October.
