Quantcast

Mott ready for White Ferns challenge

Australia Women's coach Matthew Mott is looking forward to the Twenty20 series against New Zealand later this month

New Zealand pose the perfect test for Australia as they set their sights on claiming back the Women's World T20 title they surrendered two years ago, coach Matthew Mott says.

Australia will meet the White Ferns in a three-match T20 International series later this month, beginning with a Saturday night blockbuster at North Sydney Oval on September 29.

The series against the No.3-ranked New Zealanders will serve as Australia's sternest test before the World T20 begins in the Caribbean in November, while the top-ranked Southern Stars will also play world seventh-ranked Pakistan away from home in October.

Australia walked away with the silverware after defeating India and England in a T20I tri-series in March, but they haven't won a series against the White Ferns in the shortest form of the game in three attempts since 2012.

"It's a huge test for us, New Zealand always are," Mott told cricket.com.au. "We know their players quite well and they know ours.

"It's a perfect set up, with the games over a short period it's going to be intense and we want to be ready to go.

"New Zealand have been the most consistent side in the format in the last couple of years. They're a benchmark team so we'll have a great gauge of where we're at. 

"I think we've taken a lot confidence out of the India tour, but in this format New Zealand are as good an opposition as we can hope to play."

When the teams last met in a 20-over series in early 2017, Australia romped to a 40-run win in the opening match before twice failing to chase below-par targets of 102 and 114 in the two games that followed, losing 2-1. 

It was a disappointing result from the batters in a series where Australia's spinners were dominant, but Mott is confident it will be a different story this time around. 

"We look back at the series we played against them (in early 2017) and we probably lost that, rather than they won, because we bowled them out for 100 a couple of times and should have got over the line but didn't," he said.

"This is a series that if we get in the same position as last time, I think we're equipped to finish the job and that'll be the growth that hopefully we've seen over that time."

In that T20I tri-series in India in March, Australia posted their highest ever total in the format, a world-record mark of 4-209 that has since been eclipsed by both New Zealand (1-216) and England (3-250) during a high-scoring series in the UK in June. 

It's a sign that while his team is headed in the right direction, there's no room for resting on laurels, Mott says.

"We definitely made a step forward in India with the style of cricket we played, even cricket fans I've spoken to back here have really noted just how much the players embraced that style of play we'd been calling for. 

"That was the first time we'd put it fully together as a unit and that's now where we see ourselves as a team, so we want to continue to do that. 

"(But) since then other teams have raised the bar as well."

It's been a long time between series for Australia, whose players have largely been training with their states since the end of their India tour in March. 

But with a hectic schedule looming across the next 18 months – featuring two World T20s, an away Ashes and bilateral series against New Zealand, West Indies and Sri Lanka – Mott said it was a break his players had to make the most of.

"It was something we needed to do," he said. "With the way the schedule was this year, we were determined that everyone should spend some time at home in their state programs.

"It was an intense time before that, and we knew we needed to bank that time (at home).

"Now we'll hit the ground pretty strongly."

The growing professionalism of the women's game meant the states enjoyed a full pre-season for the first time this year, including interstate practice matches on the Sunshine Coast, and Mott couldn't be happier with the results. 

"They've all came back in outstanding nick," he said. "Our fitness (testing) when we came back into camp was probably the best we've had, we had seven or eight personals bests.

"Judging by the state trial games there are players in form as well."

The Australian contracted players will be put through their paces in a series of practice matches at the Gold Coast's Bill Pippen Oval this weekend, before the squad to take on New Zealand is named next week.

CommBank T20 INTLs v NZ 

September 29: First T20I, North Sydney Oval, Sydney

October 1: Second T20I, Allan Border Field, Brisbane

October 5: Third T20I, Manuka Oval, Canberra

#WatchMe - Aussie stars to light up summer of cricket