ICC Women’s ODI World Cup 2025: Craig McMillan Appointed New Zealand’s Full-Time Assistant Coach.

Former New Zealand player and commentator Craig McMillan has been appointed full-time New Zealand women’s assistant coach after serving in a part-time capacity in the position for just over a year. Craig McMillan will work alongside head coach Ben Sawyer and batting coach Dean Brownlie, with his appointment officially beginning this coming week.

A New Zealand Cricket statement said that McMillan, the former New Zealand all-rounder will now focus on both the national team and the women’s players of interest programme as he will step back from his successful commentary career and other coaching commitments.

Craig McMillan’s thoughts on his new appointment. 

Craig McMillan who was part of the support staff when New Zealand won the T20 World Cup in UAE in October 2024 issued a statement. McMillan said: “I’m over the moon to be in this role. The women’s game is going from strength to strength, and I’m excited to continue to work with our talented players and help them reach their goals. The last year has gone so quickly and I’ve loved every minute of being part of a team that continues to improve, challenge one another, and does special things on the world stage.”

Craig McMillan on the next challenge ahead for New Zealand. 

The next challenge for New Zealand or the White Ferns as they are famously called will the Women’s ODI World Cup in India and Sri Lanka starting later this month. Giving his thoughts about the same, McMillan said: “It’s been a busy period leading into the 50-over World Cup. We’ve had a number of camps including one in Chennai which exposed the players to Indian conditions like what they’ll face in October-November.” 

Craig McMillan further added: “The team is pumped to get back to India and take on another World Cup.”

The New Zealand World Cup squad is expected to be announced soon and we are hearing it could be on September 10th.

It will be interesting to see how his appointment helps and galvanises New Zealand in pursuit of their maiden ICC ODI World Cup title. It will not be easy but New Zealand will be up for it in ICC events.

New Zealand The Perennial Underdogs and Darkhorse in ICC Events. 

New Zealand be it the Men’s Team or the Women’s Team have shown they are the masters of ICC events as far as competing is concerned. They may or may not go and win the title but boy they are always up for a fight. The Women’s Team that came to play the T20 World Cup in UAE were in a horrendous losing streak as they lost 10 matches in a row. But as soon as the ICC event came, they were up for it and went onto lift the crown beating South Africa in the final.

New Zealand have shown in the past that performances in bilateral cricket count for little as they are always up for it in the big events. They will be contenders and depending on squad they pick will definitely challenge the likes of Australia, England and host nation India. They have a pretty good record against India in ICC events. This will be Sophie Devine’s last World Cup and could be Suzie Bates’ last as well. So, they will want to bow out on a high much like they did in the T20 World Cup.

Amelia Kerr will be the player in focus as well as she is the future star of that team and expected to carry the mantle forward. Once the squad is out, we will be in a better position to analyse New Zealand but from the outset it definitely looks like a team that will challenge for the title and be therein thereabouts for the crown. We expect them to reach the semi-finals and then we will have to take it from there.

Let’s see how things unfold for New Zealand in the coming days as they prepare for this Women’s ODI World Cup 2025.

Also Read: Women’s ODI World Cup 2025: A Plot Twist No One Saw Coming