Sophie Devine, the captain of New Zealand, is expected to miss Wellington’s opening game of the current Super Smash season. After a demanding schedule over the past year, she has decided to take a “wellness break.”
Liz Green, the NZC head of women’s high performance, confirmed Sophie Devine unavailability. She has not yet made a decision regarding her tournament comeback.
“Our top focus is always the mental and physical health of our players, and it’s obvious Sophie needs a vacation. With the ICC T20 World Cup approaching and England arriving later in the summer, 2024 is already looking to be another exciting year for the White Ferns.
According to Liz Green, cited by ESPNcricinfo, “We’re adamant Sophie needs this break to re-charge her batteries and be well-prepared for the upcoming challenges.” “Sophie’s understandably disappointed.”
Tuesday, December 19, marked the start of the 2023–24 Super Smash competition. On Thursday, December 21, Wellington is scheduled to play their home game against Otago. All six teams will play ten games apiece in the league round. January 26 is the date of the eliminator, while January 28 is the date of the final.
Sophie Devine was very busy with her worldwide itinerary.
Just four days after finishing her career with the Perth Scorchers in the Women’s Big Bash League (WBBL), Sophie Devine participated in the home ODIs and T20Is series against Pakistan. She participated in a number of competitions in 2023, including the Super Smash from the previous season, the first Women’s Premier League (WPL) in India in March, The Hundred in August, the WCPL in August, and her trip to Australia for the WBBL. She demonstrated her abilities in 12 T20Is and 9 ODIs.
She has made 49 T20 appearances this year, which she shares with star Hayley Matthews. In terms of T20 run-scorers in 2023, she lags the West Indian by a narrow margin. Looking ahead, New Zealand’s next assignment is a home T20I series against England that begins on March 19. It is anticipated that Devine will participate in the WPL 2 in India prior to the series.