Canberra, May 25 -- Australia women's cricket team received a timely boost ahead of the ICC Women's T20 World Cup 2026, with head coach Shelley Nitschke signing a three-year contract extension that will keep her in charge until at least June 2029.

The extension comes less than three weeks before the start of the global tournament in England and Wales, where Australia will once again begin as one of the favourites despite failing to retain the title at the previous edition in 2024, according to ICC.

Nitschke took over as Australia coach in 2022 and quickly enjoyed success, guiding the side to gold at the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham before leading the team to a sixth ICC Women's T20 World Cup crown in South Africa in 2023.

Under her...