Indore (Madhya Pradesh) [India], September 30 : Ahead of her side's ICC Women's World Cup campaign opener against defending champions Australia, veteran New Zealand star Sophie Devine, playing her fifth and final 50-over WC, said that she is in a "really head space" to play the tournament and feels "comfortable and confident" in her abilities to play and lead the team.
The White Ferns, who have not secured a World Cup title since 2000, their only triumph, will start their campaign against seven-time champions Australia at Indore on Wednesday. Success at the 50-over edition of the tournament has stayed away from Sophie, even though she won the ICC T20 World Cup last year. In 25 WC matches since her debut back in 2009, Devine has scored 669 runs in 22 innings at an average of 31.85 and a strike rate of over 95, with two centuries and two fifties and a best score of 145. She has also taken 12 wickets at the showpiece tournament.
The history-making all-rounder will relish the responsibility of captaining a White Ferns side stacked with enough talent to make a deep run and potentially match the feats of their T20 counterparts last year.
"I feel in a really good space to go out and enjoy every moment of my last World Cup," Devine told ICC Media as quoted by ICC..
"That is something I am really proud of, to be in a space now where I feel so comfortable and confident in my own abilities, but also to lead this team with a lot of pride. Everyone knows how passionate I am about the White Ferns and New Zealand Cricket. That is something that has never changed from the 17-year-old who first played to now, my love for the team has not wavered. If anything, it has probably grown over time."
"It is crazy to think nearly 20 years have passed, and to think how much I have grown. Not just as a player, which has been pretty obvious - I have filled lots of different positions in this White Ferns team - but more importantly, the person I have become," she continued.
Devine will look to channel her passion and love for the White Ferns in India and Sri Lanka, buoyed by the knowledge that New Zealand Cricket has a lot of rising talent ready to take the reins into the future.
"We want everyone to get better, and we look out for each other. It does not matter what team I am playing for; I want to make myself and my teammates better," she said.
"Seeing where it has come from and even how quickly it has changed over the past couple of years, the potential for the women's game is limitless. To be able to help where I can and help grow the game is what makes the women's cricket environment so special. Being able to share that excitement with younger players is a really rewarding part of the game. When my time is up, I will be the biggest fan, watching the game and how it continues to evolve," she added.
Australia (seven) and England (four) have enjoyed a stranglehold over the Women's Cricket World Cup since its inception in 1973. The tournament has been played 12 times previously, and those two nations have claimed the top prize on 11 occasions - New Zealand's win in 2000 is the only aberration.
But the White Ferns' recent success at the ICC Women's T20 World Cup has them full of belief they can not only go all the way, but send Devine out a winner too.
"It has certainly given us confidence, but we know this is a different format, it is a new tournament, so everyone starts back on zero," she continued.
"It was pretty well documented that we did not have the greatest run of results leading into the T20 World Cup, but we had such a strong belief in the group that we were doing the right things behind closed doors. It taught us a lot of resilience, and winning that World Cup proved to us that we have the ability to beat anyone in the world."
"As always, we Kiwis are pretty happy to fly under the radar. The ones in the room are the ones we care about the most. The great thing about the World Cup, compared to when I look back at the start of my career, is that anyone can win this tournament. It is a really exciting place to be," she concluded.
New Zealand Squad: Sophie Devine (c), Suzie Bates, Eden Carson, Flora Devonshire, Izzy Gaze, Maddy Green, Brooke Halliday, Bree Illing, Polly Inglis, Bella James, Melie Kerr, Jess Kerr, Rosemary Mair, Georgia Plimmer, Lea Tahuhu.
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