Women’s CWC: NZ’s Sophie Devine expresses disappointment after defeat against South Africa

Hamilton [New Zealand], March 17 (ANI): New Zealand captain Sophie Devine was disappointed as her team failed to perform well against South Africa in the ongoing ICC Women’s ODI World Cup on Thursday.
Sophie Devine’s inning of 93 went in vain as South Africa bowlers Shabnim Ismail and Ayabonga Khaka scalped three wickets respectively to bowl out New Zealand for 228.
“I thought Amelia Kerr was outstanding. She drew energy and we know she is a real impact player, she picked up those two wickets and shifted the momentum. We just kept crawling back in, cricket’s a funny game and we have seen in this tournament games are going to the wire. We spoke about keeping out their strike bowlers and get off to a good start, we did that in their first spell but disappointed with the way we finished,” said Sophie Devine in the post-match presentation.
Earlier, the hosts failed to register a big score against a disciplined South African attack. An excellent inning of 93 from Sophie Devine helped New Zealand post a decent total.
“Someone from the top 4-5 should have been there till the end. If a set batter is there, we are getting 280. We were probably too wide with our line. It is a learning curve for us executing with the ball but also how to set fields. There are million different things we can pick out in that game and do differently but at the end of the day credit has to go to South Africa,” she added.
Referring to their next game against defending champion England, she said, “We have to move forward pretty quickly. We play England on Sunday and it is going to be a cracker of a game. They will be hurting as well and it is nice to see so many teams vying for the four spots.”
Marizanne Kapp thrashed the New Zealand bowlers in the last two overs to bring her side home with two wickets and their fourth consecutive win in the ongoing tournament. (ANI)