White Ferns look ahead
White Ferns coach Haidee Tiffen is not one to dwell on the past, but she is one to learn from her mistakes.
New Zealand Cricket’s review of the White Ferns 2017 Women’s World Cup failure is complete and while Tiffen remains forward-looking, she acknowledges there are some long term work-ons for her team.
The White Ferns fly this week to Britain to play Ireland, South Africa and England in a mixture of T20 and one-day internationals.
Tiffen is upbeat they can take the series.
‘‘I think we learned a lot about ourselves as a team after the World Cup. We thought we were in good shape and really believed we could have won the World Cup, but it didn’t come out that way.
‘‘We had a good hard look at ourselves and felt there were areas to invest in.’’
The NZC review means Tiffen remains as head coach which, according to head of high performance Bryan Stronach, was never second guessed. It also means developing high performance through having better support across the board.
‘‘I think with women in cricket that’s an area we have let ourselves down with in the past and that’s what we are trying to change now,’’ Stronach said.
Key areas are strength and conditioning, spending more time as a team and psychology – particularly ridding the ‘‘fear of failure’’ at top level for the women, said Tiffen.
‘‘I know New Zealand Cricket probably understand they need to do some work around the pathway for females. That may take a bit of time, but I know they have a long-term vision around getting females involved in the game and that’s fantastic,’’ she said.
‘‘Last year we were all just hurting, every single one of us. We are all committed to trying to turn that around.
‘‘We are looking at it long term. It’s not a quick fix, we are looking at investing long term,’’ Tiffen said. ‘‘Ensuring they are getting good quality coaching. Women’s cricket needs
Suzie Bates (c) Bernadine Bezuidenhout Sophie Devine Kate Ebrahim Maddy Green Holly Huddleston Hayley Jensen Leigh Kasperek Amelia Kerr Katey Martin Anna Peterson Hannah Rowe Amy Satterthwaite (vc) Lea Tahuhu Jess Watkin a bit more support around the country in that regard. Just trying to get the systems right for the players to perform the best they can.’’
The White Ferns had a training camp at Lincoln University this month and have announced a squad of both old and new names. One to watch is Central Hinds teenager Jess Watkin.
The 19-year-old was named Hinds T20 Player of the Year this season and won the supreme award last year.
She also scored a double-century in the NZC national women’s under21 tournament in December.
‘‘You’ve got young players like Jess Watkin who I am really excited to see how she goes at this level.’’
Northern Spirit wicketkeeperbatswoman Bernadine Bezuidenhout will also make her debut in Ireland.
Suzie Bates will captain the side.
The White Ferns: