Top Ad
I DIG Radio
www.idigradio.com
Listen live to the best music from around the world!
I DIG Style
www.idigstyle.com
Learn about the latest fashion styles and more...

Sophie Devine will use tough T20 World Cup lessons to lead Birmingham Phoenix in the Hundred

Written by 
Published in Cricket
Friday, 13 March 2020 09:49

For Sophie Devine, the lesson of how a team's success or failure in short-form cricket can hang on a single instant is still raw.

So the New Zealand captain fully expects her nation's group-stage exit at the recent Women's T20 World Cup, shaped by narrow defeats to India and Australia, to influence her leadership of Birmingham Phoenix in the inaugural Hundred competition.

"Cricket can be a pretty cruel game," Devine told ESPNcricinfo after being named Phoenix skipper on Friday. "I'm obviously really disappointed that we couldn't get out of the group stages at the recent T20 World Cup, but if you look back on it, we missed out by three runs and four runs to the eventual finalists, which makes it more obvious how close T20 cricket can be.

"It could be one boundary, it could be a wide, it could be a catch dropped. Certainly for me it's knowing that cricket can ebb and flow so quickly in the shorter format. So taking that forward to the Hundred format, it certainly will be about riding the waves and about how we can stay in the game and stay in the fight for as long as possible because you know it can only take a couple of balls for momentum to swing back your way."

ALSO READ: Devine, Sciver, Gregory confirmed as Hundred captains

The world's No.1-ranked allrounder and most recent WBBL Player of the Tournament, Devine is looking forward to teaming up with the likes of Australia's Ashleigh Gardner and England players Amy Jones, Georgia Elwiss and Kirstie Gordon in the new hundred-ball format, scheduled to begin in July.

"The really exciting thing for me is that everyone's in the same boat, it's not as though I'm the only player that hasn't played this format before," Devine said. "At the end of the day it's still cricket, it's still bat and ball, it's still bat v ball.

"From a captaincy point of view it will be, especially in the field, about when you give the bowler another five balls, that is something that I'm going to have to play around with and put my head together with Ben [Sawyer], the coach, and other senior players around how we see that. With 20 less balls than a normal T20, having strategies around batting order and tactics around that is something that you're not going to get right straight away."

"It can be sometimes interesting if people are bossing you around and they're not exactly backing it up, so that's something I certainly want to do, is lead from the front on the field" Sophie Devine

However, it is the 20 fewer balls per innings that could play into Devine's hands as a batter with 2,384 career runs from 91 T20 internationals at a strike rate of 126.4 to add to her 87 wickets.

"It's right up my alley," she said. "It gives me a bit more of a free licence to go even earlier. I always want to be an aggressive cricketer, whether it's with bat or with ball, so for me it gives that licence a bit earlier in the innings knowing that you've only got the hundred balls to make your impact.

"Especially with the recent announcement that Ash Gardner is going to be joining the side - and we've got players like Amy Jones, Georgia Elwiss as well, who I know can take the game head on - it's something that I'm really excited about with this format."

Having only assumed the New Zealand captaincy in January as Amy Satterthwaite took maternity leave, Devine comes across as a natural leader, eager to set the example and boost her players' belief in themselves.

"The most important thing for me to remember is that I'm a player as well and making sure that I'm doing my role with the bat and the ball and making sure I'm doing that and leading from the front," Devine said.

"It can be sometimes interesting if people are bossing you around and they're not exactly backing it up, so that's something I certainly want to do, is lead from the front on the field. Off it, it's about building trust and relationships with the players and giving them confidence because we all know how tough cricket can be.

"I think probably most important for me, it's having a bit of fun as well. If we can go out there and have a smile on our face and enjoy what we're doing, because we're in a pretty special position, it's certainly something that hopefully comes across in my captaincy."

A special priority window for tickets to standalone women's matches in The Hundred is now open until Monday, March 16. For more information on The Hundred and to sign up for priority tickets, visit thehundred.com

Read 992 times

Soccer

Mo Salah glum on Liverpool future: 'More out than in'

Mo Salah glum on Liverpool future: 'More out than in'

EmailPrintOpen Extended ReactionsMohamed Salah has said he is yet to receive a formal contract offer...

Galaxy hit 6 to rout Loons; Sounders next in West

Galaxy hit 6 to rout Loons; Sounders next in West

Gabriel Pec, Joseph Paintsil and Dejan Joveljic each scored twice -- with one goal in each half -- a...

Amorim: United set for long period of suffering

Amorim: United set for long period of suffering

EmailPrintOpen Extended ReactionsRúben Amorim said Manchester United will have to "suffer for a long...

2026 FIFA


2028 LOS ANGELES OLYMPIC

UEFA

2024 PARIS OLYMPIC


Basketball

Sources: Hornets' Williams out for rest of season

Sources: Hornets' Williams out for rest of season

EmailPrintOpen Extended ReactionsCharlotte Hornets forward Grant Williams sustained season-ending te...

'Phenomenal' Pippen Jr. shines in dad's ex-arena

'Phenomenal' Pippen Jr. shines in dad's ex-arena

EmailPrintOpen Extended ReactionsScotty Pippen Jr. already had plenty of fond memories of watching h...

Baseball

Woodward returns to Dodgers as first-base coach

Woodward returns to Dodgers as first-base coach

EmailPrintOpen Extended ReactionsLOS ANGELES -- Chris Woodward has been named first-base coach by th...

Carty, 1970 NL batting champ with Braves, dies

Carty, 1970 NL batting champ with Braves, dies

EmailPrintRico Carty, who won the 1970 National League batting title when he hit a major-league-best...

Sports Leagues

  • FIFA

    Fédération Internationale de Football Association
  • NBA

    National Basketball Association
  • ATP

    Association of Tennis Professionals
  • MLB

    Major League Baseball
  • ITTF

    International Table Tennis Federation
  • NFL

    Nactional Football Leagues
  • FISB

    Federation Internationale de Speedball

About Us

I Dig® is a leading global brand that makes it more enjoyable to surf the internet, conduct transactions and access, share, and create information.  Today I Dig® attracts millions of users every month.r

 

Phone: (800) 737. 6040
Fax: (800) 825 5558
Website: www.idig.com
Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Affiliated