Now we're here, we want to win the bloody thing: Sophie Devine

Sophie Devine and Co. had a horrid time in South Africa last year. New Zealand failed to qualify for the semi-finals of the 2023 T20 World Cup after losing to Australia and South Africa. The White Ferns came into this year’s event having not qualified for the semis of a World Cup (both 50 and 20 overs) for eight years, but have managed to turn their fortunes around.

New Zealand started the showpiece event in the UAE with a morale-boosting win over India but lost to Australia in their next encounter. They had to win their last two games to progress further and Devine and her team defeated Sri Lanka and Pakistan to confirm their birth in the semis of the 2024 T20WC.

“I seem to be crying. I wasn't crying in South Africa and I'm crying here. And it's really important that we reflect on where we've come from in terms of that South Africa World Cup. We're in the exact same situation as we are in this tournament. We knew we'd have to win at least one of our first two games and the remaining games,” said Devine after New Zealand hammered Pakistan by 54 runs on October 14 (Tuesday). 

“We learned a lot about ourselves not only from that World Cup but the I guess following 12-18 months. We obviously brought in a really young squad and to see them grow and shine. Like this tournament, if it's not Georgia Plimmer, it's Eden Castle, if it's not Eden, it's Fran Jonas. If it's not Fran, Izzy, I thought was outstanding today. And to be able to see the growth of those youngsters, it certainly makes me proud, sort of a bit of a proud mum. 

“I'm sure I'm not the cool mum that they want me to be, but to see the growth that they've had from that tournament, where it was really hard for them to be thrown into that and expectations, but for us, you're right, probably no one has expected us to be here. And I guess that's a bit of a Kiwi way though, we sort of fly under the radar and just sort of, we'll sift away a little bit. But to know that when we play our best cricket we can win this thing. We'll certainly enjoy tonight's success and what we've been able to achieve, but this is now the next focus for us is now we're here, we want to win the bloody thing.”

New Zealand eventually won by a huge margin but it wasn’t a perfect game for them, especially in the first innings. The batters struggled to get going on the Dubai surface and could only manage 110/6 in 20 overs. Among five NZ batters who faced at least 10 deliveries, Georgia Plimmer (17 off 14) was the only one with a strike rate of more than 100. Devine herself could only score 19 off 25 deliveries.

“We just wanted to keep it exciting for everyone, so we thought we'd just make it as nerve-wracking as possible. But oh look, we wanted to bat, we thought it was a good surface, I thought Pakistan were really smart with how they bowled, taking all the pace off it, and making us have to create power and momentum, which is really hard to do when you're facing that sort of lack of pace.

“I mean, outside the power play, I thought we were sort of talking 130 - 140 would have been about par, but as soon as the field is spread, that pace goes off. It was extremely hard work. So, we sort of had to reassess. Obviously, we would have liked a few more runs but that's the nature of the game and then I guess the great thing about it is we knew Pakistan were going to have to come out swinging and also we knew that 111 was going to have to be enough so that probably galvanized the side a little bit to know that it's enough runs for us today.”

It was a must-win game for New Zealand but things became easier for them once India lost to Australia on October 13. New Zealand didn’t have to worry about the NRR and all they had to do was beat Pakistan, who themselves could have qualified if they had chased down the required runs in less than 11 overs. 

Talking about the India-Australia game, which the former lost by nine runs, Devine said: “I think from about the 12th over of the Australian bowling innings, we were clapping every single dot ball and things like that. So, look, it was another great game. Those two sides seemed to have some absolute humdingers in terms of matches. 

“Thanks to our Aussie mates across the ditch. Hopefully we'll be seeing them in a final in a couple of days' time. It just shows the strength of women's cricket that a side like India has missed out. It just goes to show you the strength of the women's game at the moment.”

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