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A number of top players from the Australian women’s cricket team have spoken to the media about the upcoming T20 series and how wider TV coverage will encourage more girls to play the sport.
Jodie Fields (pictured) is in top form and looking forward to leading her team into battle against a new-look New Zealand side during the upcoming Rose Bowl.
In an interview with Wide World of Sports the Southern Stars captain said she would like to start the international competition on a positive note, but did not want to underestimate the opposition.
"Every series we play is just as important as the last," she asserted.
"And the Rose Bowl is a great series, there's always a lot of competition between both sides."
Fields is also hoping that the well-known rivalry between the two countries will attract new fans to the matches, as well as boost television ratings for the three Twenty20 matches.
"We used to rave about one game being on TV and now it's consistent, this is our second year in a row having five games on TV," she said in reference to news that the ABC will broadcast the series.
"It will be better for our sport to have young girls watching and realising they can get involved in cricket at all levels."
And while Field was busy encouraging audiences around the country to get involved in women's cricket, it seems that her fellow players are keen to talk tactics.
One of the game's emerging talents Meg Lanning made it clear that the Australians are hoping to pull off another win against one of their biggest rivals, despite only just completing the domestic competition.
The star opener is confident Australia can win the series, however, in what seems to be the team's official position she was also quick to point out that there is no room for complacency approaching an international match.
"They've got a little bit of a different side this series compared to last series, so they've got new players which is a bit of an unknown for us but we're all looking forward to the challenge and it's always a tight tussle," she said.
But after a host of recent retirements by key players, the relatively unknown Kiwi batting line-up might just present a difficult challenge for the Australian bowlers, who have not had a chance to study the techniques of the White Ferns' next generation.
In any case it seems that both sides are keen to prove they have what it takes to win a major series, while showing off the best of women's sport.
The Rose Bowl is a series of three Twenty20 (T20) matches that are set to take place at North Sydney Oval, Olympic Park and the MCG, with the final two games played as double-headers ahead of the men's Australia versus India T20 series.
Photo credit: Liam Kidston Source: The Courier-Mail