One of the most distinguished players in all of ODI cricket has bid farewell
Valkerie Baynes26-Oct-2025
Sophie Devine ended an ODI career that lasted 19 years and four days•ICC/Getty Images
Sophie Devine’s clenched jaw couldn’t stop the tears as she stood on the field ahead of an ODI listening to the New Zealand anthem wrap up for one last time.The fact that her team sent her off without mounting a contest, let alone a fairytale victory against England, and instead exited the World Cup with barely a whimper doesn’t take away from a decorated career.”Everyone wishes that they could finish on a high, but it doesn’t happen very often at all,” Devine said. “I am still so proud and so grateful for everything that this group has given me, and in my whole career. One day, one game doesn’t define that.”I’ve just got so much love that I’ll be really keen just to sit with my team-mates and support staff and just reflect on what’s been a pretty cool ride.”Related
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Enjoying the ride formed part of Devine’s reasoning behind announcing before the tournament that she would retire from ODIs immediately after New Zealand’s campaign ended.And while it ended in an eight-wicket defeat as her side were bowled out for just 168 inside 39 overs and with Amy Jones striking back-to-back fours off Devine to bring up the winning runs in an unbeaten 86, she reflected on that last passage of play with trademark deadpan humour.”Jones could have at least patted one back to me and given me another wicket,” Devine said, having removed Heather Knight lbw for 33 in her previous over. “Heather just walked away, I appreciate that.”Today was always going to end at some stage, I guess it’s probably fitting that it happened off my bowling. I got pumped for four, so a bit of a reality check for me just to send me on my way. But cricket, yeah, cricket doesn’t owe you anything.”The truth is, cricket owes Devine a lot.Sophie Devine finished the World Cup as NZ’s highest run-getter•Getty ImagesOne of the sport’s great servants, Devine ends her ODI career after 159 matches as one of only three players in the world – alongside Stafanie Taylor of West Indies and Australia’s Ellyse Perry – to score more than 4,000 runs and take more than 100 wickets in the format.After 19 years and four days, she is New Zealand’s second-longest serving player in ODIs behind great friend Suzie Bates, at 19 years and 236 days and counting. It could have been longer for Devine, had she not paused her career for two years in 2011-12 to represent New Zealand in hockey.Having also played 146 T20Is Devine passed 300 international appearances at this tournament. Her team-mates marked the occasion by presenting her with a necklace made from the pounamu green stone unique to New Zealand which she wore for the toss and anthems in Visakhapatnam on Sunday to “share a little bit of Aotearoa (New Zealand) with the rest of the world”.Devine has also been a forthright advocate for mental health awareness through words and actions, taking breaks from the game in recent years to prioritise her wellbeing, and for living with Type 1 Diabetes, which she regularly has to manage on-field, including at this World Cup.Devine plans to continue playing T20 internationals, having relinquished the captaincy in that format after she and her team-mates lifted the world title last year.Whether she travels to England to defend that crown in mid-2026 remains to be seen but the bigger question is, how will New Zealand move on without her?1:51
Devine reflects on the T20 World Cup win in 2024
Although Bates, who at 38 is two years Devine’s senior, has made no announcements on her future, a time without both stalwarts is a reality the White Ferns have had to consider while it is still too early to gauge the legacy of their T20I success in attracting new players to the game.More than 18 months ago, and more than six months before their T20 World Cup triumph, Devine lamented the lack of depth coming through New Zealand cricket on ESPNcricinfo’s Powerplay podcast. But in the lead-up to this game, the picture was a little brighter.”I am really excited and it’s taken a lot of time,” Devine said last week of New Zealand’s emerging talent. “That’s something that we’ve got to be realistic about, is these things don’t happen overnight.”We’re not like India; we don’t have one billion people to be able to call upon. We’re literally a small country at the bottom the world with five million people and unfortunately cricket isn’t, at the moment, the number one sport. We’re always going to be fighting for the attention of youngsters coming through.”But the opportunities – and that’s what’s really exciting as a selling point to any youngsters in New Zealand at the moment and that’s not just girls, it’s boys as well – it’s that the opportunities that cricket presents to you should be really attractive.”We’re starting to see it now as the depth is starting to grow and it’s going to be a continual process. Just because we’ve brought a few young players through doesn’t mean it’s job done. There’s still lots of work to do in terms of our domestic structure, in terms of our contracting system providing opportunities.”ESPNcricinfo LtdAs New Zealand faced up to the looming prospect of life beyond Devine and Bates, there was faint encouragement from a World Cup campaign which yielded just one win, against Bangladesh, and was hit by two washouts.Brooke Halliday was inside the batting top-10 for the tournament after New Zealand’s final match with 227 at 45.40, including scores of 69 against Bangladesh and 81 against India. At 29 she has good years ahead of her while Georgia Plimmer, the 21-year-old opener, was their best batter against England, with 43.That said, Devine was their leading run-scorer for the tournament with 289 at an average of 57.80, striking at 85.25 and with a century in the opening match, against Australia. Meanwhile, Lea Tahuhu, the 35-year-old seamer, was their leading wicket-taker with 10 at 15.70 and an economy rate of 4.61.While she hasn’t enjoyed her best tournament, allrounder Amelia Kerr was the star of the T20 World Cup and at 25 years of age with 172 international caps already, she is the perfect bridge between generations within the team.That makes Kerr the obvious choice to take over as long-term captain with Bates having assumed the T20 role over the past year, although New Zealand are yet to announce whether she will take over from Devine in ODIs as well.Sophie Devine with her potential successor Amelia Kerr ahead of the World Cup match against England•Getty Images”I’m in a really nice position with having the experience but also having youth on my side,” Kerr said ahead of this World Cup. “I’m in a position where I can relate to all players in the team.”But for me, I don’t think you need a title to lead and I just want to help my team-mates believe in their ability and encourage them to do what they do well and that doesn’t change whether I’ve got a title next to my name or not.”Ben Sawyer, New Zealand’s head coach, was reluctant ahead of Devine’s swansong to name her possible successor.”We’ve identified players that we think could, I guess for want of a better phrase, make up a bit of a leadership group and we’ve spoken to who we think will captain the team,” he said before turning his attention back to Devine.”It’s just been an absolute honour and a privilege to work alongside her. I know in my early days of WBBL, she was always a player that I probably thought it’d be cool to be in the same team as her. I’ve been lucky enough with a couple of franchises and saw her work there, but it’s really in this New Zealand environment where I think she’s at her most comfortable.”She leads this team so well. Everything about this team, the culture, the values that they have on and off the field, I feel from when I stepped in here, they came from Soph. I’m certain that people before her did the same, but from my experience, she’s the one who’s driven this team and it’s up to now some younger players to pick that up and run with it.”Devine also received the appreciation of her opponents as she reluctantly accepted a guard of honour formed by the England and New Zealand squads as she walked from the field.”Having made my announcement so early, everyone knows about it and they probably want to recognise it, whereas I would’ve just liked to have gone under the radar and gone about my business like any other day,” Devine said.Only this wasn’t any other day. It was a special day in a special career – one that, sadly, we won’t see again.
