Coach Haidee Tiffen was extremely pleased with her side's performance in Auckland, noting it was great to see the gameplan come together.
“Incredibly proud of the girls and how they’re executing their roles, but also seeing them work together towards the team’s success has been really pleasing,” says Tiffen.
“I think it was one of the best WHITE FERNS performances during the team’s history.
“It was such a wonderful day for women’s cricket, the skill from both teams, the atmosphere the crowd created and the groundstaff prepared a very good wicket that allowed exceptional skills to be expressed.”
The match was broadcast live on SKY Sport and the team thrived on the extra pressure of thousands watching from home.
“The promotion of women playing any sport is a real positive, and from a cricket perspective it’s a great step forward. Again, showing the value the skills that the girls displayed inspires a younger generation, and it was great entertainment for the people watching at home.”
The focus now shifts to the second match at Bay Oval on Thursday, the side looking to back up their impressive first-up performance.
“Suzie Bates spoke about the areas that we need to work on, and we will address those together as a group. From my point of view, it’s looking at how we can improve.”
Kiwis know all too well that Australia is the toughest competitor around and the WHITE FERNS head coach expects the Southern Stars to be fired up for the clash.
“From my experience they respond, they come back really hard. They will have a really honest appraisal about where they’re at and they’ll do exactly what we’re doing: putting plans in place to make their side improve.”
The match begins at 11.00am and will be streamed live on www.BLACKCAPS.co.nz.