Sophie Devine says her team's behind-the-scenes work to improve their position in world cricket has been vindicated by New Zealand's victory in the final match of England's tour.
Devine led her team to a seven-wicket win in the third and final ODI in Hamilton on Sunday, despite missing the fifth T20I and the first two ODIs due to a quad strain. Her unbeaten century, sealed with two sixes off the last three balls of the match, helped the hosts reach their target of 195 with just three wickets lost and 11 overs to spare.
Although England had already won the T20 leg 4-1 and had an unassailable 2-0 lead in the ODIs, Devine saw the victory as a significant achievement. The recent match demonstrated that New Zealand's strategy to develop a deeper pool of players within their existing squad was successful. This comes after concerns were raised about the limited number of talented players available for selection.
Devine said:
"I'm a bit wary though of Suzie Bates thinking that she's going to be golden arm now, so we'll have to keep her in check," she added with a faint, wry smile. "But just a fantastic all-around team performance, and I guess it probably validates the work that we're doing behind the scenes and knowing that when we get things right, we're going to be a hard team to beat."
Bates, a veteran opener and part-time bowler, demonstrated an ability to take crucial wickets in limited spells during both series. Devine was most pleased with the performance of the entire bowling unit. In this match, she utilized six bowlers due to the absence of injured seamer Rosemary Mair since the T20Is. Seamers Rowe and Jess Kerr led the way with three wickets each, while Amelia Kerr contributed 2 for 46 to dismiss England for 194 with 3.3 overs to spare.
Devine's powerful century, scored off just 93 balls, sealed the win for New Zealand. The team had stumbled to 14 for 2 after losing openers Bates and Georgia Plimmer, who was promoted due to an injured Bernadine Bezuidenhout. Devine shared an unbroken century stand with Maddy Green, after putting on 76 with Amelia Kerr. With just 12 runs needed to win and reach her hundred, Devine struck Charlie Dean over the deep midwicket fence twice in three balls to secure both.