New Zealand women ready to avenge for Rose Bowl Series and Quadrangular Series defeats against Australia

New Zealand's women are counting the days before they can get a chance to take a shot at old foes and reigning world champions Australia in next month's Rose Bowl Series in Darwin, Australia.

Why? Well, they want to avenge for their defeats in last year's series as well as in this year's quadrangular tournament in Chennai.

After a tied Twenty20 game in Brisbane last October, Australia swept the five-match series though the first three went down to the wire.

Then in March, Australia romped to an easy six-wicket victory in the final of the series that also involved England and the host, after New Zealand had qualified by winning five out of six matches.

This year's series will be played from 19 to 29 July, and New Zealand captain Haidee Tiffen said she can't wait for it to begin. "We are keen to take on the world champions and I am equally sure Australia feels the same way.

"We love playing Australia. We enjoy the rivalry the two countries have but most importantly we love being challenged by the best team in the world. I know both teams are very competitive and equally looking forward to meeting each other. It will be a great series," Tiffen said.

"The 2006 Rose Bowl, despite the results, was a great series and showed really how close the teams were. Yes, we cracked under the pressure and Australia on each day played with cooler, calmer heads. They are world champs and to have that title you have to have many strengths.

"I believe we were competitive and a lot of positive things came out of the series. This was shown with how far our team came in six months at the quadrangular series in India. We can only keep moving forward," Tiffen, who accumulated 78 runs in the Rose Bowl Series and aggregated 162 runs in the quadrangular series in India, said.

Tiffen said her team was training hard for the series that would provide good opportunity for the youngsters to prove their mettle. "I know our team is working hard and have recently had a training camp where we have reflected on how far we have come in the last year and where we want to move forward too.

"We are always looking forward in the vision of our team and giving many players opportunities at the international level," she said.

Despite all, Tiffen said both the teams will go into the series without experience after losing key players with the retirements of Australia's Cathryn Fitzpatrick and New Zealand's Rebecca Rolls. Both players hung up their boots after the quadrangular series final in Chennai after illustrious careers.

"Both the teams are still very competitive even though we have lost experience through retirements. But it will be interesting to see how the new faces get on," she said.

Former fast bowler Fitzpatrick took 60 wickets in 13 Tests and 180 wickets in 109 one-day internationals while Rolls, a gutsy wicketkeeper/batsman, scored 71 in her only Test appearance against England in 2004 but scored 2,201 runs in 104 ODIs besides accounting for a record 133 batsmen behind the wickets.

"Rebecca was well respected world-wide. She was well known for her aggressive batting and was a player that could take the game away from opponents. Her experience, knowledge and talent will be certainly missed," said Tiffen.

"However, this gives many other players opportunities to show their flare and style in our team. Players do move on and we can only learn from them. Rebecca has left a legacy that we certainly want to continue," said the 27 year-old Tiffen who has played two Tests and 90 ODIs.

Tiffen said the Rose Bowl Series, like any other international series before the ICC Women's Cricket World Cup 2009, was part of New Zealand's preparations and build-up for the mega event.

"Every international series is important to us as it is an indicator of how we are progressing and what areas we need to work on leading into the ICC Women's Cricket World Cup 2009 to be held in Australia.

"This series is obviously important in our preparation for England. Each country provides a different playing arena for us so it is important we settle and adapt quickly to those conditions," she said.

Tiffen is happy with the way women's cricket was progressing and says the game's merger with the International Cricket Council (ICC)) is benefiting the sport. "Women's cricket is shaping up extremely well. The game is only strengthening and with more frequent tours we are exposing our game to the public.

"Our skills are consistently tested and hopefully improving at the international level which in turn provides better quality in domestic cricket. Players are now even more supported by their national cricket boards and we now come under the umbrella of the ICC which is benefiting our game," she said.

Tiffen gave thumbs up to the idea of women's Twenty20 cricket and described the idea of having women's Twenty20 game before the men's Twenty20 game as an excellent innovation.

"It's a brilliant format of the game. It provides a great spectacle for the public and is enjoyable to play. It is a great way to promote our game and now some women's games are played before the men which is even a better idea as it helps us to play a more aggressive and expansive game at pace."