A fierce competitor on the field and a quintessential humourist off it, a visibly emotional Sophie Devine fought back tears during her final ODI as the New Zealand national anthem echoed through the ACA-VDCA Stadium here on Sunday.

That was far from the only sentimental moment for the Kiwi legend through the course of the day.

Though she declined a guard of honour at the beginning of her farewell game, the 36-year-old had no option but to give in to the love showered by her teammates and England players by the end of the contest.

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“Well, I’m not retiring from T20 cricket just yet. I thought it was a bit weird if they gave me a guard of honour and then I walk out next game. Maybe I should just keep doing it,” Devine said with a cheeky smile during the post-match press conference.

“I guess it’s hard because I had made my announcement so early and everyone knows about it… they probably wanted to recognise it… or else I would have liked to just have gone under the radar and gone about my business like any other day.”

“They probably trapped me a little bit there at the end. I didn’t have too many options… but, again, just so cool to be able to share that,” Devine added.

The journey

From being a medium-pacer batting at No. 11 on her ODI debut against Australia in 2006, Devine grew in stature as a leader and a formidable all-rounder.

With 4279 runs and 111 wickets in 159 ODIs, Devine bows out from the format as one of only three women to achieve the double of 4000 runs and 100 wickets in the format.

Devine’s ODI career did not end on a positive note “result-wise” as NZ finished the Women’s ODI World Cup campaign with just one win. She saw the silver lining in having her dear colleague Suzie Bates bowling alongside her in the final moments of the match.

“It would have been nice if it was in different circumstances and we were, you know, bowling for the win but, yes, that’s probably one of the good things about being a captain, isn’t it? You can decide what you want to do and who wants to bowl.”

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Final act

Devine’s final act in the format was “getting pumped for four” by Amy Jones, which sealed NZ’s eight-wicket loss, and Devine was quick to see the funny side of things.

“It was nice to be able to at least finish my career with the ball in hand. Jones could have at least patted one back to me… I know Heather (Knight) just walked away (after Devine got her trapped in front), which I appreciate.”

“Today was always going to end at some stage. I just thought I was going to get a bit of my bowling. I got pumped for four. So, a bit of a reality check for me, just to see me on my way. But again, cricket doesn’t owe you anything.”

In a tribute video posted on Instagram by the ICC, Devine had said: “I certainly hope that I am remembered as a competitive player.”

No, Sophie, you have been much more than that.

Published on Oct 26, 2025