Emotional Sophie Devine bids goodbye to White Ferns

New Zealand skipper Sophie Devine managed to keep her composure for 14 minutes while addressing the media after a heart-rending defeat to India—but the tears flowed once she stepped off the stage.

Standing by the exit gate, the 36-year-old placed her hands firmly on her waist, took a deep breath and wiped away her tears before returning to the team’s dressing room.

Those tears were not simply for the loss to India but for the realisation that she will play her final match for the White Ferns on Sunday. Her long-cherished dream of lifting a World Cup Trophy will now remain unfulfilled.

Considered underdogs in this tournament—given their limited preparation over the past 12 months—the side endured two washed-out matches and one rain-interrupted contest. That run of misfortune made Sophie accept that destiny had not written her name on the World Cup silverware.

What began as a routine post-match briefing soon became an emotional farewell. “I thought I was going to get through this press conference without crying. It’s tough, isn’t it?” admitted Sophie. “I know jokes have been made about the weather following us, but all we wanted was the opportunity to play cricket. Unfortunately, we had fate in our hands. We lost the first two games, put ourselves under pressure, and lost again today. It’s hard to reflect because half our matches were affected by weather. But we simply haven’t been good enough, which is heartbreaking given the effort this group has put in over the last 12 months.”

The team will play their final league game against England in Visakhapatnam on October 26—Devine’s last outing in international cricket. Her career spans nearly two decades, beginning in 2006, and she holds the distinction of being the first player, male or female, to score five consecutive T20I half-centuries. She also has 158 ODI caps to her name, with nine centuries and a highest score of 145.

“It’s like being a proud mother—you’ve been part of this team for so long that you’re completely invested,” she said. “I’ll go through many emotions in the coming days, but we’ll take time to reflect. That’s what’s tough about sport—you can work harder than anyone else, and still, success isn’t guaranteed. That’s the hardest pill to swallow from this campaign.”

The match against India was crucial for New Zealand’s semi-final hopes. Opting to bowl first, they restricted India early but lost grip as the innings progressed. With rain altering the target to 325 in 44 overs, the chase was always an uphill task, compounded by mental and physical fatigue.

“I’m incredibly proud of how the team fought against India. When you think about the likes of Isabella Gaze, Brooke Halliday, Melie Kerr, Eden Carson, the way that they're starting to really grow into themselves, it certainly makes it easier when That makes it easier for me to step away after the next game. In hindsight, our bowling in the powerplay was excellent, but it’s hard to recover when you concede a partnership of over 200. The Indian batters were fearless, and our challenge was to keep up with the run rate—which climbed too quickly. There are lessons in that for us.”

“I think sometimes people forget that we're human beings and that we do have emotions. We're not just robots out there that go and play and don't have feelings. Unfortunately, this right now is a bloody tough thing for me to do. But I also want to front up and still be really proud of what this group's been able to achieve. But I'm not going to sugarcoat it, it sucks. Losing press conferences are probably the hardest ones to do, especially when you've been knocked out of a tournament. At the end of the day, there's not too many positive words I could probably say about it, unfortunately. But that is what it is,” Sophie said.