Since debuting for the Wellington Blaze in 2003 as a wide eyed 14-year-old, WHITE FERNS vice-captain Sophie Devine has seen first hand the rise of women’s cricket.
“When I started, I was lucky to get 30 bucks a day and I thought that was the best thing since sliced bread!” Devine told blackcaps.co.nz.
“Now, when we go and talk to young girls in schools we can tell them that cricket is actually a career option for them, especially with the T20 leagues around the world.”
Those leagues include Australia’s Big Bash, which the multi talented 26-year-old featured in last year for Adelaide, and she’s off next month to play in the inaugural Kia Super League in England where she’s been signed by the Loughborough Lightning.
“It’s great that it really is now a global game. It’s awesome for us to develop as individuals and players while testing ourselves in different counties, conditions and against different players.
“It’s a really exciting time for the the women’s game. England and Australia are certainly leading the charge, but we’re not too far behind them and we’ve got some great players, so with similar resources and investment we can stay hot on the heels of those two sides,” she said.
Alongside an increase in resources and profile, Devine believes she’s seen the standard of women’s cricket increase around the world.
“Certainly the professionalism has lifted. There’s a massive emphasis on the strength and conditioning these days that probably wasn’t there in the past and even though the game’s not fully professional or even semi professional, we’re still trying to operate as though it is.
“Internationally it’s also a much more even playing field with the top six to eight nations far closer than just the the big four of the old days.”
Devine, who’s also represented New Zealand in hockey, says she’s been able to gain a greater appreciation for sport as a whole, through stints working for Cricket Wellington and currently Cric HQ.
“It’s really interesting to see that other side of cricket. I’m one of the lucky ones who gets to travel around ‘the world and play the game that I love, but there’s so much that goes into it behind the scenes.
Far from one to put her feet up while not working or playing, Devine is also an ambassador for Diabetes Youth New Zealand and was diagnosed with type one diabetes in her teens.
“I feel really humble and privileged to go around the country and speak to different groups and even in the cricket environment I’ve got no problem sharing my story and what it’s all about because the more people that know about it the better.”
Ranked the 10th best player in the world, Devine has high expectations for herself and the WHITE FERNS going forward.
“We want to be number one in the world in both formats and we want to win tournaments. We’ve always been there or there abouts, but we want to kick on now.
“I’d also love to see the WHITE FERNS become one of the most well known female sports team in New Zealand. We know that performance drives that and if we get the right culture then those things can happen naturally.”
