Sophie Devine (left) with a little girl after her record-breaking century.
New Zealand women's team skipper Sophie Devine smashed a 36-ball century in her team Wellington Blaze's big win over Otago Sparks in New Zealand's Twenty20 Super Smash on Wednesday.
While her innings shattered many records, one of her nine sixes ended up hitting a little fan of her enjoying her innings. However, after finishing off the match in 9 overs while chasing 128, of which she scored 108 in just 38 deliveries, the White Ferns skipper found some time out with the unnamed litte girl and also gave her cap as a memento.
In the game, Devine broke the previous record held by West Indies' Deandra Dottin, who scored a 38-ball ton against South Africa in 2010.
Devine's knock was also the fastest T20 century in New Zealand, beating Tim Seifert's 40-ball effort for Northern Districts in Mount Maunganui in 2017.
It's also the third-fastest Twenty20 century by any New Zealander, behind Martin Guptill's 35-ball ton for Worcestershire against Northamptonshire in 2018 and Scott Styris' 37-ball century in 2012 for Sussex against Gloucestershire.
Her blazing knock ensured Wellington won the match by 10 wickets in the 9th overs after Sparks managed to put just 128/7 on the board.
"I was really nervous this morning. Whenever you have a bit of an extended break away from the game, you get nervous about (whether) you can come back into it. So it was just (nice) to spend some time in the middle and get a few out of the screws," Devine was quoted as saying by New Zealand Herald.
"For me it was just about playing smart cricket – to know where my gaps were, trying to manipulate the field ... I felt I knew where they were trying to bowl so if I could manipulate myself around the crease, I could open up areas of the field, so, yeah, I'm pleased with the way it went today.
"Sometimes I can get a little bit carried away ... and I get a bit over eager and play some rash shots so it was nice to stick to some decent cricket shots today and finish the job."
