Tiffen feels she might not be in the "right fame of mind" to coach the side in the Rose Bowl series. © Getty

Haidee Tiffen has decided to step aside from her role as New Zealand Women's head coach for the upcoming tour of Australia on grounds that she might not be in the "right frame of mind" to coach the side in the Rose Bowl series. High performance coach Bob Carter has been appointed as the interim head coach after New Zealand Cricket accepted Tiffen's request for a leave of absence from the three-match series.

The development comes close on the heels of a review set up to assess the team's disastrous World T20 campaign in the Caribbean last year, which saw them eliminated in the group stages. The review went on to recommend advertising all coaching and support staff's roles, including those of assistant coaches Matthew Bell and Jacob Oram, after the termination of their contracts.

"I just want to do what's best for the team," Tiffen was quoted as saying through a NZC statement. "The review was fairly confronting and challenging and I can't really imagine being in the right frame of mind to help this side during the upcoming Rose Bowl series." the 39-year said on Monday (February 14).

Tiffen said that her decision was solely based on the interests of the team, which departs for Australia on February 18. "I love the players; I love the team and I love the job - but for everyone's sake I think this is the best course of action at the moment."

Bryan Stronach, the head of high performance at New Zealand Cricket, said that the board will stand with Tiffen in times like these. "The high performance environment is an extremely challenging one and the most important thing we can do right now is make sure we support Haidee. We totally respect her position and will work through this with her."

Tiffen's contract is due to expire on July 31, 2019 and Bryan has spurred her on to reapply for the same position. The first of three ODIs starts on Friday (February 22) at the iconic WACA cricket ground in Perth.