‘Everyone’s in the same boat’

A World Cup on home soil is the light at the end of the tunnel for the White Ferns – provided the coronavirus pandemic allows it to go ahead as scheduled.

It is too soon to say whether teams will be able to travel to New Zealand for the event that is set to take place next February and March, starting on Waitangi Day at Eden Park, but everyone’s plans leasing up to it are set to take a hit.

After missing out on a place in the semifinals of this year’s Twenty20 World Cup, which finished at the start of March with hosts Australia eclipsing India in front of a crowd of 85,000 in Melbourne, the White Ferns went on leave ahead of a tour of Sri Lanka that was on the cards in April.

That was where they were supposed to take their first steps towards the one-day World Cup, which New Zealand is hosting for the first time since 1999 – the last time the White Ferns finished up on top.

As they were comprehensively beaten in the only ODIS they played last summer – three matches against South Africa in Auckland and Hamilton, which were also their first 50-over contests in almost a year – it was plain to see they had plenty of work to do.

That work was meant to start this month in Sri Lanka – a country the team has visited once, for the World Twenty20 in 2012 – but the tour was cancelled as the impact of Covid-19 on global travel became clear.

Sophie Devine was set to continue as the White Ferns captain on that tour and she said she was confident the team would continue working hard until international cricket could be resumed.

‘‘We’ve got a little bit of time on our side. We obviously had our tour of Sri Lanka postponed, which is a shame, but we’re still working hard at the moment – the girls are slogging it out on the pavements with a strength and conditioning programme that’s gearing us up with an eye towards the World Cup next year.

‘‘The good thing is that everyone’s in the same boat, it’s not just the Kiwis that are stuck in a bubble – the Australians, Indians, the English, they’re all in the same boat.

‘‘I guess it’s about how we make do with what we’ve got and we’ve got a great support staff and some great creative thinkers in our group and when we’re out of our bubble and when things are safe we’ll charge ahead.’’

Devine was speaking after receiving the Cricket Players’ Association’s Players’ Award, handed to her by her White Ferns team-mates for her performances during the 2019-20 season, which included a run of five Twenty20 matches (out of a total of six) where she made 50 or more – including her first century in the format.

‘‘From a personal perspective, scoring my maiden T20 century at the Basin Reserve was a really special occasion for me,’’ Devine said.

‘‘I obviously have some great memories of the Basin Reserve and Wellington as well, so as a proud Wellingtonian it was awesome to do that there and it was really special and certainly a standout for me.

‘‘Fingers crossed that when all this settles down the White Ferns will be up and running and looking forward to a World Cup on home soil.’’