Bassett wins player vote to lead Diamonds

Caitlin Bassett's retention as Australian netball captain came down to a team vote, coach Lisa Alexander has confirmed.

In an unexpected revelation ahead of the Quad Series starting in Auckland on Saturday, Alexander said the Diamonds canvassed players via a 3-2-1 voting system on a semi-regular basis to determine their skipper.

Veteran goal shoot Bassett had won the most recent election after a new-look squad gathered to prepare for the series which also features England, New Zealand and Australia's opening opponents, South Africa.

It had been widely assumed Bassett was simply retained as skipper from their most recent campaign, April's Commonwealth Games.

However, Alexander said each player had been asked to cast their votes openly to keep accountability high and allow players to clear the air.

Questions about the voting method only emerged after New Zealand's newly-appointed coach Noeline Taurua this week revealed a voting system to unearth a captain.

Returning midcourt veteran Laura Langman topped the ballot and was unveiled on Thursday.

Alexander wasn't surprised successful Sunshine Coast Lightning mentor Taurua had gone down the democratic path as it was commonly used in Australian netball circles.

"We've been doing that ourselves for a long time," she told AAP.

"Noeline is getting the opinions of her players and seeing where they stand and how they'll work together. It's a smart thing to do and will only benefit them."

Alexander said the public nature of Australia's voting system meant nothing gets hidden between players.

The newly-elected captain or a teammate who falls short in the process can seek immediate feedback.

For example, not all of the Diamonds players voted for 30-year-old Bassett, she said.

"There are athletes that she'll know she needs to reconnect with or talk with and say 'what is it about what I'm doing that you're not happy with?

"So they can have those genuine conversations which are really important for us to move forward as a high performance team."

Alexander is relishing the prospect of a tightly-fought Quad Series.

She admits the match against England in Newcastle on Wednesday is in the back of her mind, having gone down by a solitary goal to the Roses in the final of the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games.

However, she was reluctant to look too far beyond Saturday's opponents South Africa, coached by her long-serving Diamonds predecessor Norma Plummer.

"I'm a huge admirer of Norma, we go back such a long way," Alexander said.

"She's competitive like I am and there's no way she'll coach a team that will lie down."