New Zealand captain Devine ends 19-year ODI career

WELLINGTON (Agencies): An emotional Sophie Devine was given a guard of honour as the New Zealand captain played her last One-Day International in Sunday’s eight-wicket loss to England at the Women’s World Cup, ending an ODI career spanning 19 years and 159 matches. All-rounder Devine, 36, made her debut in October 2006 and is one of three women to complete the double of scoring 4,000 runs and taking 100 wickets in the 50-over format, along with Stafanie Taylor and Ellyse Perry. Devine, who also represented New Zealand in field hockey before focusing on cricket, led the country to victory in last year’s Twenty20 World Cup. She will continue to play in the 20-over format. “It was about enjoying it today and going back to the roots of 19 years ago and why I play,” said Devine, who scored 23 runs and dismissed Heather Knight as New Zealand ended their World Cup campaign in the group stage. Devine scored nine centuries and 18 fifties, amassing 4,279 runs and 111 wickets in the format. The white-ball specialist, known for her heavy hitting, became the first woman to hit nine sixes in an ODI innings when she scored 93 runs against Pakistan in just 41 balls in 2017. She also jointly holds the record for scoring the fastest fifty in women’s T20 internationals with Australia’s Phoebe Litchfield, both having completed half-centuries in just 18 balls. “Enjoy it while it lasts but realise cricket is just a game. Not fully done just yet so sure I’ll be annoying people around the grounds,” Devine added.