Sophie Devine provided insight into her decision to decline a guard of honor from her teammates prior to the New Zealand versus England match on October 26. Devine concluded her ODI career with the White Ferns’ final league game in Vizag, which resulted in a loss for her team.
Following the match, both teams honored the all-rounder with a guard of honor, and she was presented with a signed jersey from the England team. During the post-match press conference, Devine expressed her belief that receiving a guard of honor at that moment felt odd since she is still actively participating in T20 cricket.
Devine mentioned that she had preferred a more low-key retirement approach but acknowledged that her early retirement announcement had influenced the situation. She reflected, “I’m not retiring from T20 cricket just yet, so I thought it was a bit strange. If they give me a guard of honor now and then I walk out in the next game against England in a similar manner, will they repeat it every time? Maybe I should have accepted it, and they could continue the tradition. However, it’s challenging because my early announcement made it public knowledge, and people probably wanted to acknowledge it. I would have preferred a quieter exit, just going about my business as usual.”
Regarding the end of the match, Devine noted that she felt somewhat cornered as both teams orchestrated the guard of honor. She expressed gratitude and admiration for England’s gesture while humorously commenting, “It was nice of them, but they sort of trapped me at the end. I didn’t have many options. Nonetheless, it was an amazing moment to share with both my teammates and the English team.”
The conclusion of Devine’s ODI career saw her participate in 159 games and accumulate 4279 runs.