Sophie Devine, the New Zealand captain, is dejected at the end of the game after England won the third T20 at Canterbury in England. Photo: Matthew Impey / Photosport
It will take time for New Zealand to build the kind of depth that Australia and England have in women's cricket, White Ferns coach Ben Sawyer says.
England's clean sweep over New Zealand, winning all eight matches across both white-ball formats, highlighted the gap between the White Ferns and leading nations.
The series culminated at Lord's on Thursday when England inflicted more pain by winning the final T20 by 20 runs.
England will head to October's T20 World Cup in Bangladesh full of confidence that they can knock Australia off the podium, while the White Ferns will be wondering how they can close the gap on the world's top sides.
Sawyer said no one was happy with the results.
"We're working really hard with our players to try to turn that around and I know that's not the quick fix or the answer that everybody wants straight away but disappointed with the results but doing our best to try fix that," Sawyer said.
"The biggest thing for me was the fact that we just all couldn't do it on the same day. At times we had Sophie [Devine] and Amelia [Kerr], a few of our leading batters bat really well and then our middle order wouldn't be able to do it."
New Zealand coach Ben Sawyer. Photo: PHOTOSPORT
Sawyer said depth was probably the biggest barrier to the White Ferns being competitive against the likes of England, Australia, and India.
"England have got 120 full-time contracted players but everyone at New Zealand Cricket is working hard to build that depth but right at the moment there is a bit of a gap.
"I think we played 18 or 19 players on this tour and the ones that came in it didn't really make a difference to their side at times and that is showing that they've got a lot of depth. But we are working hard to try to develop that same amount, it's going to take time ...it's tough for me as a coach to sit back and watch them go through that as well."
Sawyer said finding more playing opportunities was key.
"Being here in England and having spent a little bit of time here in the last couple of years they play a lot more cricket and when they come into the international arena it's not such a step up. We're trying to create that through you know North-South competitions and Tri-Series and the A programme.
"At the moment for some of our players we are learning on the job a little bit."
NZ at least 10 years behind
Former New Zealand all-rounder Frankie Mackay told BBC Sport that the White Ferns are still "at least a decade away" from catching up with England and Australia.
Former New Zealand all-rounder Frankie Mackay. Photo: PHOTOSPORT
"It's a huge worry, something that everyone in New Zealand is aware of," Mackay told the BBC.
"It's not as though they have picked the wrong squad for this tour, but there just isn't enough of a player pool to choose from at the moment."
There was an over reliance again on captain Sophie Devine, 34, batter Suzie Bates, 36, and 23-year-old Amelia Kerr.
"In Bates, Devine, Kerr and Amy Satterthwaite, who retired in 2022, you have four of the best players New Zealand have ever produced," Mackay added.
"But they have all come at the same time, and three of them will go at roughly the same time.
"And there's no silverware to show for it, their last World Cup final was 2010. It does feel like we missed the boat with that a little bit in terms of the professionalism and the investment, it allowed England and Australia to get a long way ahead.
"We are still at least a decade behind them."
Suzie Bates of New Zealand is dismissed against England. Photo: Photosport
England are thriving from increased investment into the women's domestic set-up and Sawyer said it was hard to keep up with that.
"Even though we are trying to bridge the gap they [Australia and England] are trying to pull further and further away ... so it is a difficult job to try bridge that gap but we're working as hard as we can to try to do that," Sawyer said.
Devine, Kerr, and Bates spend much of the year playing in overseas leagues like Australia's WBBL, the Hundred in England, and India's WPL.
Sawyer said it was worth getting other White Ferns players some game time overseas, even if it was at lower levels.
"We've actually spent time on this tour speaking to England Cricket about those opportunities and how we can get our players some exposure over here ...last year we sent two or three of our White Ferns to a T20 league in Queensland for extra game exposure."
The White Ferns have got two and a half months to prepare for the T20 World Cup and Sawyer was realistic about the challenge his side faces in their pool, which includes Australia, India, and Sri Lanka.
"We would have to I would say at least win two maybe three of those four games."