White Ferns coach to skip Australia tour

When New Zealand arrive in Perth on Monday for the Commonwealth Bank ODI Series against Australia, it will be without head coach Haidee Tiffen.

Tiffen has requested a leave of absence in the wake of a review into her team's disappointing T20 World Cup campaign in the West Indies last November, which saw the White Ferns fail to progress out of the group stage of an ICC event for the second successive tournament.

New Zealand's players and staff were presented with the findings of the review on Monday, which recommended all coaching and support staff roles be advertised at the completion of their contract periods.

Tiffen, who is under contract until June 31, said she felt it was in her team's best interests to sit out the three-match Rose Bowl series, which begins at the WACA Ground on February 22.

High performance coach Bob Carter will oversee the team in her absence.

"I just want to do what's best for the team," Tiffen, who has coached the White Ferns since 2015, said. "The review was fairly confronting and challenging and I can't really imagine being in the right frame of mind to help this side during the upcoming Rose Bowl series.

"I love the players, I love the team and I love the job – but for everyone's sake I think this is the best course of action at the moment."

New Zealand missed the T20 World Cup semi-finals after heavy defeats to Australia and India, while they also failed to make the final four of the 2017 World Cup in the UK.

With another T20 World Cup looming in Australia in early 2020, before a 50-over World Cup in New Zealand in early 2021, the White Ferns are understandably looking for a change in fortunes.

"The high performance environment is an extremely challenging one and the most important thing we can do right now is make sure we support Haidee," NZ high performance boss Bryan Stronach said, adding Tiffen had been encouraged to reapply for her position at the end of her contract.

"We totally respect her position and will work through this with her."

The findings of the review came after New Zealand completed a mixed home summer against India, which saw them lose an ODI series 2-1 before completing a 3-0 T20I series whitewash.

Australia romped to a 3-0 T20 series win over the White Ferns on home soil last September-October, before defeating their trans-Tasman rivals by 33 runs during the T20 World Cup in the Caribbean.

New Zealand haven't won an ODI series against Australia since 1999, but Australia captain Meg Lanning said they wouldn't be taking their fierce rivals lightly.

"There's a lot on the line this series," Lanning said following the release of Australia's squad on Wednesday. 

"We've been watching New Zealand play quite well against India in the (T20s) and it's really important we finish the summer well. We know they've got a really strong team, I'm not surprised they're been playing well especially against a strong T20 unit in India.

"We expect them to come over here and play well and we're looking forward to the challenge of that."

CommBank ODIs v NZ 

Australia squad: Meg Lanning (c), Rachael Haynes (vc), Nicola Carey, Lauren Cheatle, Ashleigh Gardner, Alyssa Healy, Jess Jonassen, Sophie Molineux, Beth Mooney, Ellyse Perry, Megan Schutt, Elyse Villani, Georgia Wareham

New Zealand squad: Amy Satterthwaite (c), Suzie Bates, Sophie Devine, Lauren Down, Maddy Green, Hayley Jensen, Leigh Kasperek, Amelia Kerr, Rosemary Mair, Katey Martin, Katie Perkins, Anna Peterson, Hannah Rowe, Lea Tahuhu

February 22: First ODI, WACA Ground, Perth

February 24: Second ODI, Karen Rolton Oval, Adelaide

March 3: Third ODI, Junction Oval, Melbourne