“What’s your why?” In a typically eloquent post-match chat after New Zealand’s last match of the ICC Women’s World Cup against England, Sophie Devine reflected on her ODI career that started almost exactly to the day, 19 years ago. The White Ferns legend had announced her farewell from the 50-over format at this tournament’s end, and received appreciation from her teammates and opponents – who gave her a guard of honour – on an emotional day in Visakhapatnam. At the end, speaking to former England star Isa Guha, she spoke of the lessons she learned from the game.
“Sport teaches you a lot,” she began. “We’re professional athletes and we’re judged on our results, but it’s so much bigger than that. For me to get to play alongside my best mates in a country where it’s just such an awesome opportunity, that’s more valuable and rewarding than some other things. It has taught me so much perspective. That’s probably taken a little bit of time as well. What I’d say to the younger kids is that if you’re riding the highs and lows of cricket, it’s going to be a bumpy old ride. So enjoy it while it lasts, but also realise that cricket is just a game. Why do you play? I think that’s so important. What’s your why? Why do you keep turning up?”
Devine’s ‘why’ was always to turn up for the White Ferns, year after year, tournament after tournament, embodying the Kiwi spirit of punching above their collective weight. On Sunday, she bid farewell with a defeat she called ‘very disappointing’ as New Zealand’s batting collapsed once more, with England registering a comfortable eight-wicket win. But even on her last day, she tried to hold the NZ batting innings together and ran in to bowl a few overs of medium pace.
A special guard of honour for Sophie Devine as she retires from the 50-over format after 19 years 🥹🖤#ENGvNZ | #CWC25 pic.twitter.com/ID3ZMiQ4aU
— ICC Cricket World Cup (@cricketworldcup) October 26, 2025
She began her ODI career as a No 11 who opened the bowling, she finished with the wicket of Heather Knight with a delivery that nipped back in from a good length, going down as one of the greatest all-rounders, with 4,279 runs and 111 wickets in 159 matches. Her 289 runs in this World Cup, where she started off with a gritty century in a losing cause against Australia, meant she was New Zealand’s top run-scorer too. She is arguably the best ever White Ferns cricketer.
Her career, however, goes beyond the statistics. Anyone who has been speaking about the 36-year-old’s legacy has unfailingly been appreciative of her character, the personality she brought to every dressing room she’s been part of, and the impact she has had on the women’s game, even beyond New Zealand.
“Soph really downplays the impact she has had in our little country, let alone the world,” compatriot Amelia Kerr told ICC. Growing up, watching her play, the impact she has had on not just my career but a lot of other girls and boys as well… she’s creating a huge legacy of her own. Rightly so, she is one of New Zealand’s best ever.”
Admired by peers
Devine, like her best mate and another New Zealand legend Suzie Bates, has represented the country at the highest level in two sports. While Bates played basketball (in Beijing 2008 too), Devine represented Black Sticks in field hockey. For more than a decade, she has also been a voice for the betterment of women’s cricket, calling for better contracts for Kiwis and being vocal about the importance of a women’s IPL even before it was a reality. She has also been a vocal advocate for mental health, lending support to Kerr when she took a break from the game.
“It’s so incredible to think of the growth of the women’s game,” Devine said. “To see where the game’s got to now in terms of the investment, the resources, the opportunities, it’s almost unrecognisable from when we started. So to see where the game can continue to go, I’m so excited about that and I’m going to be the biggest supporter of the women’s game, because I still think there’s so far this game can go, and I think (cricket) can be a real leader in the women’s sports space around the world.”
Story continues below this ad
Like true great athletes, bitter rivals too admired her off the field. Australia’s Ellyse Perry, a fierce competitor and later a teammate at RCB, summed up what made Devine special after her 36-ball 99 in the inaugural season. “That last shot where she got out typifies Sophie,” Perry would say. “It’s not about runs for her but playing for the team. To be going for a big shot on 99 when the cover was open for a single, it speaks volumes to her character. She is a typical Kiwi I think, she loves having a crack. She is just so relaxed. It’s about going out there and delivering for the team. She’s got the quickest hands and such a stable base; she’s so powerful. She hits it everywhere, and is near impossible to bowl to.”
An incident during Super Smash T20 in January 2021 captured her globally-admired stature. After completing a then T20 world record fastest century (off 36 balls, broken only a few days ago by Kiran Navgire), Devine didn’t celebrate. The six she hit to get to the landmark unfortunately ended up hitting a girl watching from the grass banks. A shellshocked Devine spent some time with the child after the match. “We gave her a cap and a top just to say ‘thank you, hope you’re okay’. Her father has stayed in touch since that game, making sure that they get along to any game in Dunedin. An unfortunate incident, but an opportunity to hopefully have another fan for life,” Devine had told this writer once. There’d be many fans for life, not just in New Zealand, as Devine winds down her career as one of the greatest role models in women’s cricket.
