Late arrival Devine hoping to hit the ground running

New Zealand have played one of their official warm-up games ahead of the ICC Women’s World T20 2018, beating Sri Lanka by six wickets in Coolidge. Amelia Kerr returned 4/13 as Sri Lanka were shot out for 98, before Suzie Bates and Maddy Green hit 30s to take New Zealand home in 18 overs.

Missing out was Devine, who was back home attending her sister’s marriage and couldn’t leave with the rest of the players.

“I probably would’ve been kicked out of the family if I’d missed it (my sister’s wedding). Cricket is really important but family comes first,” Devine said.

“I think I had a bit of FOMO (fear of missing out) – missing out. I saw on social media the girls getting stuck into training and warm-up games. It’s nice to come back and join the group, it’s a bit like family and it’s nice to link up again and the group seem in a really good space.”

The journey of 43 hours from Christchurch out of the way, Devine can’t wait to get going. Her first chance comes in New Zealand’s second and final warm-up game against hosts Windies.

“I think for me personally it’s another opportunity to get used to the conditions. See what the pitch brings, their bowlers – it’s a fantastic opportunity to play against the hosts. It’ll be great to learn from them and see how they go about things and also stick to our plans,” the 29-year-old all-rounder said.

“It’s fantastic to be over here in the West Indies, they love a party, so really looking forward to being part of that atmosphere and anytime you get to represent your country is really special so looking forward to getting out there and doing the country proud.”

She plays multiple roles – particularly with the bat, where she and Bates form one of the most formidable opening acts in the game.

“For both of us, it’s actually about … we both know that if we give ourselves time, we’re probably going to be better later on,” Devine pointed out. “Especially here, it’s about knowing when to go. In saying that, it’s probably the easiest time to have a crack when the ball is hard and the field is in.”

New Zealand will hope Devine – the more destructive of the two – does that, and also that she does her job with the ball.

“It’s really important to be able to adapt. Here, it’s been spoken about a lot, that spinners will play more of a role, but as a medium pacer, variable bounce, change-ups and variations are all really going to be key as well,” she said.

“That’s what I will be looking to do, try to hit the sticks as much as possible. It can be a bit of hard work at times but I am really excited about the challenge.”