Two former White Ferns have hit out at the side, following their loss to England that all but ended their World Cup semi-final hopes - describing it as a low point in the team's history.
A wounded New Zealand side touched down in Christchurch on Monday, where they'll take the week to prepare for their likely tournament closer against Pakistan on Saturday.
The White Ferns hoped their tournament would end at Hagley Oval next month, but now it's more than likely to be in just five days' time.
"We've got a game to play on Saturday against Pakistan," coach Bob Carter says. "We'll certainly be looking to end our World Cup on a high."
The White Ferns admit their performances to date haven't been up to par.
"It's pretty gut-wrenching to get that close and not get over the line, and standing on the cliff, borderline out of the competition," stand-in captain Amy Satterthwaite says.
But the results against the West Indies, South Africa and England have come as no surprise to former players Maia Lewis and Katrina Keenan.
"We came into this ranked fifth," says ex-captain Lewis. "So we're probably sitting at our ranking to be fair and that's also a sign the rest of the world has caught up."
Keenan on the other hand is far more critical of the White Ferns' displays over the last six games.
"I think it's time to own that performance, and I think accepting that we aren't the world's best," she tells Newshub.
"We aren't actually world-class."
Questions will undoubtedly be asked about how the side goes forward after this World Cup, like the side's inability to regularly bat out 50 overs, but the pair believe it's not going to be an overnight fix.
"We're still five to ten years behind the professional era of England and Australia," adds Lewis.
"We've had reviews," continues Keenan. "I'm not really sure what the outcomes of those reviews have been."
Part of the review following the World Cup will be who takes the team forward, with coach Bob Carter's future uncertain.
"That's the end of my contract with the White Ferns," Carter adds. "Whatever happens after that, happens.
"If we'd had three results go our way, perhaps we wouldn't be having this conversation."
Those results are no doubt hard to swallow given the nature of how close they've been.
But there's no time for Carter and the White Ferns to dwell now focusing on preparing for what should be their final match of the tournament on Saturday.
Join Newshub for live updates of the White Ferns v Pakistan from 11am Saturday.
