New Zealand’s loss to India on Thursday not only ended their campaign at the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup but also confirmed that Sunday’s final league stage game against already-qualified England would be legendary skipper Sophie Devine’s final appearance in ODI cricket.
It was a bitter farewell for the veteran batter, who has been the heart of New Zealand women’s cricket for over a decade. Yet amid the disappointment, there was pride in her teammates, in the younger players stepping up, and in the journey the side had undertaken.
“I don’t really want to think too much about it because I probably get quite emotional around it,” Devine admitted, fighting back tears. “But the way those girls went out there today… I’m incredibly proud of where this team’s going. When you think about the likes of Izzy [Gaze], Brooke [Halliday], Melie Kerr, Eden Carson, the way that they’re starting to really grow into themselves, it certainly makes it easier when I step away after the next game, not before,” she said.
“It is sort of [you feel] a bit like a proud mother,” she added. “You’ve been involved in this side and New Zealand cricket for so long that you’re so invested. I’m going to go through a few different emotions over the next couple of days, but we’ll take time to reflect on that.”
New Zealand’s campaign ended with more questions than answers. Their must-win clash against India in Navi Mumbai slipped away after a strong start with the ball. Choosing to bowl first on a humid afternoon, they initially kept India quiet in the powerplay but soon lost control as Smriti Mandhana and Pratika Rawal took charge.
A DLS-adjusted target of 325 in 44 overs left the White Ferns chasing a near-impossible total. Despite fighting half-centuries from Brooke Halliday and Izzy Gaze, the chase fizzled out well short.
“It’s hard. After any game, you can dissect every single ball,” Devine reflected. “I thought we were outstanding with the ball in the powerplay. It’s always hard when you get a partnership of 200-plus, you’re going to be under pressure. I guess for the Indian line-up, they were able to come out and swing pretty freely and take the game on and they probably got a few too many.
“We spoke about things we needed to try and stay as close to the run rate as possible. And it’s hard because it jumps so quickly here. So, they’re all learnings for us. It’s frustrating and it’s gutting and it’s disappointing to lose any game of cricket, but especially when we still had a chance of making it through to this World Cup’s semi-finals,” she said,
New Zealand’s decision to bowl first was made with the weather forecast in mind, Devine said, with the team anticipating rain interruptions and potential DLS involvement.
“It rained, didn’t it? The game got altered,” Devine said. “In cricket with Duckworth-Lewis, you want to bat second so you know what you’re chasing. And again, hindsight’s a brilliant thing, isn’t it? If we’d have won that game, would the same question have been asked?
“We obviously saw that the weather was going to come in at some stage. How much? You can’t control that. But I don’t think we regret that decision. We’ve known the troubles that India have had lately chasing totals. In hindsight, maybe we should have batted first. Would it have changed the result? I don’t know.”
The campaign has been one of frustration for the White Ferns. After starting their campaign with a couple of losses, their problems were compounded by rain disruptions in Colombo, where two matches were washed out, leaving them with just one victory in a format where total wins, not net run rate, determine qualification for the semi-finals.
When asked how she would reflect on the team’s journey after such a challenging tournament, Devine’s composure faltered.
“I thought I was going to get through this press conference without crying,” she said, pausing to collect herself. “It’s tough, isn’t it? Because I know I’ve spoken about the weather, the weather’s followed us, jokes have been made about it. At the end of the day, you just want the opportunity to play cricket.
“Unfortunately, we had fate in our hands. We lost the first two games, put ourselves under pressure. We lost today. So, it’s hard to reflect when nearly half your games have had weather impacted by it. But we haven’t been good enough. And that’s really tough because the work that this group’s put in over the last 12 months has been phenomenal.
“And that’s what sucks about sports sometimes, you can work harder than anyone in the world, you can do all the right things, but it doesn’t guarantee your results out there when it matters. That’s probably going to be the hardest pill to swallow. I’m not sure what else we could have done as a group to be better prepared, to be fitter, to be more connected. But we’ve got to dissect it and figure out where we went wrong and where we can improve. It sucks. Unfortunately, there’s not much other ways to describe it.”
As she prepares to play her final ODI on Sunday, Devine’s legacy as a fierce competitor, leader, and inspiration for a new generation remains unquestioned. And fittingly, she ended her press conference with the same fighting spirit that has defined her career.
“The work that this group’s put in, no one deserves anything,” she said. “Not just in cricket, but in life. Sometimes you wish that the good guys got the results. We’ll pull ourselves up, we’ll dust ourselves off, and we’ll go bloody hard at these English people and give them a good run for their money. Hopefully we leave everything out there on Sunday and can walk away with our heads held high.”