Devine: “I’m so humbled to have done this for so long”
Media release
Sophie Devine reflected on a bittersweet ending to her ODI career after her New Zealand side were comfortably beaten by England in Visakhapatnam.
The 36-year-old’s 159th and final match in this format brought an eight-wicket defeat and rounded off a disappointing tournament for the White Ferns, who won the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup last year but have ended on the winning side just once in this competition.
Devine contributed 23 with the bat and picked up a wicket in her emotional swansong, which finished with a guard of honour from both sides, but could not hide her frustration with how the last few weeks have played out.
“It’s disappointing,” she said. “Not to make it about me but I really wanted to go out on a high and the performance wasn’t there today.
“It’s not the way we wanted our tournament go but there are bigger things going on in life so we will move on.
“It’s just confidence and belief. We spoke about it after the World Cup win last year, we are good enough to be here and when we play our best cricket, we can beat any team in the world.
“We just have to keep believing that. I’m really excited about the talent starting to come through, the energy in the group, they have such a high ceiling. It’s just about that self-belief and knowing their best is good enough.”
New Zealand were well set on 89 for one before the dismissals of Georgia Plimmer and Amelia Kerr in successive deliveries sucked the momentum out of the innings.
The White Ferns left 11.4 overs unused as they were bowled out for 168, which England surpassed in the 30th over of the reply.
But a career as long as Devine’s offers perspective and the skipper is determined to see the bigger picture.
“I didn’t cry as much as I thought I was going to,” she said. “There were a few tears in the anthems but I had been able to process those emotions after announcing it so early.
“It was just about enjoying it today and remembering why I started playing. The result didn’t go our way but it was never just about the result, it was also about finishing out here with my mates. It was nice to finish with Suzie Bates bowling at the other end, that was really special.
“We will reflect, have a few laughs and a few drinks tonight. I’m so blessed and humbled I’ve been able to do this as a career for 19 years.”
England skipper Nat Sciver-Brunt, meanwhile, paid tribute to Amy Jones after the opener’s unbeaten 86 spearheaded the chase.
The victory ensured England leapfrogged semi-final opponents South Africa into second in the group stage table – which could be significant in the event of a washout – though they face a nervous wait over the fitness of star spinner Sophie Ecclestone, who spent most of the match off the field after injuring her shoulder making a diving stop.
“I don’t know anything further but it was precautionary, we have a huge match coming up so don’t want to risk anything,” Sciver-Brunt said. “We will know more in a few days.
“Amy (Jones) was brilliant, starting off with a great partnership with her and Tammy (Beaumont). They navigated that spell really well and Amy being there at the end was massively important.
“We really wanted to put in a really good performance today to reaffirm the trust in how we’ve gone about our cricket in this tournament, which has been largely successful. We are really happy to take some confidence into the semi-final.”
ENDS