Well-performed Canterbury goal attack Alison Preston-Thomas made her debut for the Silver Ferns as a 20-year-old in the 1948 series against Australia.

With the team selected largely on a regional basis, for cost reasons, she was one of a handful to play in all three Tests which were hosted in Dunedin, New Plymouth and Auckland.

With the next Silver Ferns team not selected until 1960, there were no more Tests for Preston-Thomas but she enjoyed a long provincial career as a highly dependable player and accurate shooter with a dominant Canterbury team of the era.