New Zealand's White Ferns captain Amy Satterthwaite is strong-willed that absence of Coach Haidee Tiffen will not hinder the focus of her team ahead of the forthcoming ODI series against Australia, starting February 22.
Tiffen had requested a leave of absence as she thinks she is not in the right frame of mind to travel with the team.
The development came in the backdrop of team's World T20 campaign which recommended the coaching and support staff roles be advertised at the completion of their contract periods. The Kiwis suffered an ouster at the group stage, losing to India and Australia.
Satterthwaite, who was surprised with Tiffen's decision, remains respectful of the process that New Zealand Cricket has committed to, throwing her full support behind interim coach Bob Carter, Cricket Australia reported.
"It was a challenging review for all of us involved. I think we acknowledge that our performances have not been where we had like them to be over the last 12 to 18 months and we have all got to take our part in improving it," she said.
"He [Carter] has a wealth of experience, I am sure he will be great around the group on this trip and we have got a big job ahead," Satterthwaite said.
White Ferns captain, however, has backed Tiffen to reapply for the position of head coach.
"She [Tiffen] has been a massive part of this team and we are going to miss not having her around on the tour against Australia. At the same time, we have also got a job at hand and we have to put our focus onto that in the short term and get that right," she said.
With high performance coach Carter stepping up to the role for the ODI series against Australia, Satterthwaite is adamant in her team's ability to adapt to the changes.
"We as players - regardless of whether Bob's looking after us, or Haidee, or anyone else, we have got to make sure we are taking responsibility for our performances," she said.
White Ferns lost their home ODI series against India 1-2 but bounced back with a 3-0 T20I series whitewash.
"We ended up I guess coming out with a bit of hunger rather than sitting back and letting them dictate terms and it was something that worked for us against India and certainly brought about better performances," she said.
"We have to start off against Australia with that mindset and really take it to them. We know that they are a quality side and we have got to perform as a unit to make sure we are competitive against them," Satterthwaite said.
Following are the Down Under squads:
New Zealand: Amy Satterthwaite (c), Suzie Bates, Sophie Devine, Lauren Down, Maddy Green, Hayley Jensen, Leigh Kasperek, Amelia Kerr, Rosemary Mair, Katey Martin (wk), Katie Perkins, Anna Peterson, Hannah Rowe, Lea Tahuhu
Australia: Meg Lanning (c), Rachael Haynes (vc), Nicola Carey, Lauren Cheatle, Ashleigh Gardner, Alyssa Healy (wk), Jess Jonassen, Delissa Kimmince, Beth Mooney, Ellyse Perry, Megan Schutt, Elyse Villani, Georgia Wareham.
White Ferns are slated to play their first ODI against Australia on February 22 at the WACA Ground in Perth, followed by second and third match on February 24 at the Karen Rolton Oval in Adelaide and March 3 at the Junction Oval in Melbourne, respectively.
Disclaimer: No Business Standard Journalist was involved in creation of this content
