Salliann Briggs believes on and off field factors have played a key role in helping Hobart Hurricanes attract some high profile recruits for their WBBL05 campaign.
Speaking as all-rounder Nicola Carey again featured for her country in the ODI series against Sri Lanka, a stage where speedster Tayla Vlaeminck has also appeared this summer, coach Briggs said it was a "credit to the players" who were already on the Canes' list as much as those behind the scenes for the arrival of such high-end talent.
"They (the players) have shown great improvement over the last 12 months and I think them being able to showcase their talent has highlighted that there are good things going on in Tasmania with people improving,'' she said on Wednesday.
"It is a collaborative effort, that is for sure. With recruitment we made sure we targeted players who had a really good skill set and weren't getting an opportunity elsewhere, so if we can provide that opportunity and a high performance base that is what really created that big push for those girls to move from the mainland to Tassie.
"What we want is players who want to go play for Australia and if then they are going to have the motivation to want to do that then they are going to bring something to your training environment and they are going to raise the standards."
"We've probably not had the results we wanted to get the confidence going heading into the Big Bash, but we've played some good cricket in small chunks,'' Briggs admitted after dropping their first three matches to the New Zealand side.
"(But) practice matches are crucial going into big competition and the girls want to remove a few cobwebs."
The Hurricanes' first match in the new-look standalone WBBL will be on Saturday, October 19 against the Stars, with their first home games at West Park in Burnie on Saturday, November 2 and Sunday, November 3, against the Sydney Thunder.