In the wake of the inaugural Women’s Hundred auction on March 11, 2026, 36-year-old New Zealand all-rounder Sophie Devine emerged as one of its biggest stars, fetching a joint-highest bid of £210,000 from Welsh Fire, matching Australian keeper Beth Mooney’s price tag with Trent Rockets.
Ahead of the tournament’s 6th edition from July 21 to August 16, Devine reflected on this milestone, celebrating the explosive growth of women’s cricket while eyeing New Zealand’s title defence at the 10th ICC Women’s T20 World Cup in England and Wales from June 12 to July 5.
Sophie Devine’s value shone through her recent dominance in the 4th edition of the Women’s Premier League (WPL) for Gujarat Giants. She smashed 243 runs in 9 innings at a strike rate of 148.17 and an average of 30.37, including two half-centuries. With the ball, she snared 17 wickets at an average of 16 and an economy of 8.28, capped by a four-wicket haul, tying her with India’s uncapped pacer Nandni Sharma of Delhi Capitals as the tournament’s joint-highest wicket-taker. That form fueled the bidding frenzy, underscoring her enduring all-round prowess.
“Look, certainly exceeded expectations by a fair stretch,” Devine said post-auction. “The really cool thing for me is just to see where the women’s game’s gone, from back when I first started, and you got paid 30 bucks for a weekend, to some of the money that was getting thrown around. So, look, I’m certainly really privileged and grateful for the opportunity and to be snapped up.”
Now reunited with the Gujarat Giants WPL head coach, Michael Klinger at Welsh Fire, Devine shifts focus to international duty. She’s gearing up for New Zealand’s five-match T20I series against South Africa at home from 15th March to 4th April 2026, her first outing since retiring from ODIs post-World Cup and stepping down as captain. Operating under a casual contract with New Zealand Cricket (NZC), she backs skipper Amelia Kerr, who starred in recent whitewashes over Zimbabwe (3-0 in T20Is and ODIs).
“I think it (South Africa series) is great preparation for us,” Devine noted. “I think we’ve had an excellent build-up. Obviously, we’ve had a whole heap of domestic cricket as well, then Zimbabwe. And then to take on South Africa and England before getting to the World Cup, you probably couldn’t ask for much better preparation.”
Sophie Devine praised Kerr’s leadership against Zimbabwe, “I was really impressed with the way they went about [against Zimbabwe]. I thought it was clinical. For Melie [Kerr] to lead by example, it’s probably a sign of things to come.” Relinquishing the captaincy suits her, she added, allowing her to support while taking the backseat, while chasing another World Cup triumph as defending champions.
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