White Ferns captain Sophie Devine has eased any concerns over her fitness for the Twenty20 World Cup in South Africa, completing her side's second warm-up match without issue.
Devine, 33, travelled to South Africa under an injury cloud after a broken foot suffered while playing for Wellington Blaze over the New Zealand summer.
But the Kiwi skipper has timed her recovery to perfection, and the White Ferns' second warm-up match against England before the start of the T20 World Cup on Sunday.
Even in a five-wicket defeat, Devine appeared unhindered by the injury, scoring 14 from 15 balls with the bat.
"It's certainly been a long time coming," Devine said. "It has been a bit of a process to make sure I can get to this point.
"It's just nice to get out on the field with the girls. It was brief, but certainly good to just get back into things.
"[I feel] great. It probably shows all the work that's gone in behind the scenes with all the staff to make sure I can get through.
"[There were] really pleasing signs heading into the first game."
Even though the final preparation ended in defeat, the White Ferns are content with their preparations
The team have been in South Africa since last month to acclimatise to conditions, and have now played five warm-up games.
Aside from Thursday's (NZ time) defeat, the White Ferns have also played an unofficial three game series against England, as well as completing a valuable win over the West Indies on Tuesday.
Coupled with the addition of former South Africa fast bowler Morne Morkel assisting their build-up, the White Ferns have left no stone unturned in their bid to win a first global tournament since their ODI World Cup triumph in 2000.
"I don't think we could ask for too much more in terms of preparation," Devine added. "We've been over here for close to two weeks now, coming off the back of our own domestic season.
"The team's ready to go, they're really excited. World Cups are big events, and everyone's really excited.
"I think we're pretty clear around that starting XI, and what that's going to look like, but also how we need to play to make sure we're going to win consistently in this tournament."
Aside from Sunday's opener against Australia, the White Ferns also face hosts South Africa on February 13, Bangladesh on February 17, and Sri Lanka on February 19 to complete pool play.
