Women's T20 World Cup 2023: Sophie Devine comes down heavily on her team after South Africa defeat New Zealand

SA vs NZ, Sophie Devine — Image Source : GETTY IMAGES NZ skipper Sophie Devine walks back after being dismissed in a T20 World Cup match against South Africa

Women's T20 World Cup 2023: The world cup is underway and has been witness to some decent matches, but certainly everything is not well with the 'White Ferns. New Zealand are always known to be a team that puts their best foot forward in ICC tournaments, but this time around things look pretty dismal for Sophie Devine and her team. After losing their opening game to Australia by a margin of 97 runs, the 'White Ferns' went down the slump even more. In the 7th match of the World Cup, South Africa defeated New Zealand by a margin of 65 runs.

South Africa won the toss and opted to bat first. Sophie Devine and co. were immaculate with the ball as they restricted the Proteas women to 132/6 in their quota of 20 overs. New Zealand might have fancied their chances after they lost to Australia, but this was not meant to happen. Shockingly, the 'white ferns' crumbled for 67 runs and this has certainly dented their hopes of qualifying for the next round. This loss hasn't gone down too well with Kiwi skipper Sophie Devine and she didn't mince words while speaking in the post-match press conference.

Sophie Devine said:

I'd like to be very honest, it is embarrassing. As of now, I can't really say much else apart from this. We've trained well and put in all the work behind the scenes and then to come out and perform like that two nights in a row is simply not good enough for international cricket. If I'm being brutally honest, I'm not sure if our domestic structure is preparing us for international cricket. You are seeing how the WBBL, the hundred and now the WPL are highly competitive tournaments. Leagues like these go on and prepare players who bloom under pressure.

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South Africa XI: Laura Wolvaardt, Tazmin Brits, Marizanne Kapp, Sune Luus (c), Chloe Tryon, Delmi Tucker, Nadine de Klerk, Sinalo Jafta (wk), Shabnim Ismail, Ayabonga Khaka, Nonkululeko Mlaba