Women WC: Skipper Devine 'happy with the fight' NZ showed in loss to Australia

Indore, Oct 2 (IANS) New Zealand captain Sophie Devine chose to focus on the positives after her team’s loss to Australia in their ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup opener in Indore, praising the fight and resilience shown by her side in the face of adversity.

New Zealand suffered an 89-run loss to Australia. The White Ferns continued to fight back from tough situation, displaying a gritty resolve against the reigning champions. Devine stood tall in the face of adversity with a sensational century that gave New Zealand's tough chase some life in the second innings.

“I’ll just say come and feel my shirt, I think you’ll see how tough that was,” Devine said, reflecting on her superb century that gave New Zealand’s chase some life. “But I guess that’s the thing that I probably took strength from, is the work that the girls have done over the last six to 12 months.

"It’s been exactly for a knock like that, it’s the hard stuff that no one sees behind closed doors and every single one of this group has been slogging away, making sure that they’re fit and ready to be able to go out there and do a job like I was able to do.”

The White Ferns, chasing a formidable target against the reigning champions, battled back from difficult positions throughout the 50-over contest. While the result did not go their way, Devine said it was the approach that mattered most.

“Just happy with the fight this team showed, a couple of years ago we would have thrown the towel in pretty early. It shows the mindset of the group that we stay in the fight. I’m incredibly proud that, well I was probably a little bit slow towards the end getting a bit tired and things, but I know every one of our players wants to be there and wants to be contributing throughout the full 100 overs.”

Devine highlighted the contributions of her teammates who stood alongside her, praising their ability to stay true to their strengths. “The fight and the resilience shown just to knuckle down rather than throw our wickets, it’s something I’m really proud of for this group and the way the likes of Izzy Gaze came out to bat, Maddy Green, Brooke Halliday, the way that people just- keep going to their strengths and taking the game on, that’s something that I spoke at an earlier press conference — it’s about how we play this game.”

Looking ahead, the New Zealand skipper reiterated that results, while important, are not the only measure of success for her side. “Yes, results are important and we want to win, but the way that we played tonight, it’s made me really proud and I certainly know that we can keep pushing the best teams in the world really hard. But also we can be at the business end of the tournament if we can make sure that we’re playing good cricket for longer periods of time.”

With six pool matches still to come, the White Ferns remain in the hunt for a top-four finish and a semi-final berth. For Devine, her side’s display against Australia was proof that New Zealand are prepared to fight all the way.

--IANS

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