Adelaide Strikers star all-rounder Sophie Devine reveals she grew up worshipping Brett Lee and how she learnt to smash the ball over the pickets

Sophie Devine, the 29-year-old big-hitting all-rounder from New Zealand, has starred for Adelaide Strikers becoming the first player — male or female — to score 500 runs in one season. Now she reveals the secrets behind her success.

Sophie Devine walks to the middle of Adelaide Oval. She’s opening for the Strikers alongside her Kiwi “smash sister” Suzie Bates. She marks her crease and looks up as the ball comes towards her. She breathes and raises her bat … SIX!

Known for her explosive hitting, Devine has had a standout season in the Women’s Big Bash League, adding a fourth half-century for the season (59, 48 balls) against Perth on Saturday to help Adelaide secure its third successive win.

But away from cricket, she’s a humble, charming 29-year-old who can’t believe her luck to be a professional sportswoman.

Strikers player Sophie Devine at Adelaide Oval. “I loved (Brett Lee’s) action, I loved that he could swing the ball, it was a shame he was Australian, but he was a pretty good role model.” Photo: Naomi Jellicoe

Devine was born on New Zealand’s North Island and grew up in Tawa, a northern suburb of Wellington, before moving south to Christchurch with her family at 17.

The third of four children, her childhood was about one thing: sport.

Her father, Peter, was a sport-obsessed banker, who passed that passion on to his kids.

“He was a handy player, but he had a knack for coaching kids,” Devine says.

“I find him a bit of a pest now sometimes, he’ll still come up and find things to critique me on.”

Her older brother, Sam, was also influential. A leg spin bowler, Devine recalls hating facing him.

“I probably still show it today when I play against spin,” she muses. “I just want to whack every ball for six and that stemmed from when he used to bowl at me, I wanted to whack him as hard as I could.”

She describes her close relationship with her brother: “Everything he did I just wanted to do”.

“This is how obsessed we were with the sport: We moved house when we were in Tawa and it had a front yard that was shaped as an oval and somehow we found an old concrete roller, it had bits broken off it and we would spend hours rolling our own pitch in this front yard and we’d get some paint out and mark out the crease.

“We were full on. We called it the Devine Oval.

“It was surrounded by flower beds, but straight down the yard was a section that was clear and you’d get double runs for being able to hit straight.

“I guess I can credit some of my technique to always wanting to hit straight because you got real value for those shot. If you could hit straight you could keep running because it was a good 30-40m for the other person to go and pick the ball up.”

Sophie Devine’s Strikers teammates rub her blue headband as if for luck. Photo: Daniel Kalisz/Getty Images

Devine grew up worshipping Brett Lee.

“Yes, Brendan McCullum, Chris Cairns, Nathan Astle, Craig McMillun were Kiwis at the time, but Brett Lee for me I just wanted to bowl as fast as him,” she says.

“I loved his action, I loved that he could swing the ball, it was a shame he was Australian, but he was a pretty good role model.

“I used to have a mantra I’d say in my head: ‘Rhythm, off-stump, Lee’: make sure I had rhythm running in, off-stump because that’s where I wanted to aim and Lee because I wanted to be Brett Lee.”

Perhaps she’ll be reciting those words on Sunday when she plays against Perth Scorchers in Alice Springs.

But cricket wasn’t always assured. After making a few national squads for hockey and with the London Olympics looming, in 2010 she gave up cricket for two years to concentrate on Olympic selection. She missed out though on the “flip of the coin”.

“And that was it. No regrets though, I gave everything to the hockey environment and really enjoyed playing at that international level.

“Soon after that disappointment, I was picked up by the NZ cricket side and I was off to Sri Lanka for a T20 World Cup.”

Devine as an U-16 New Zealand representative. Photo: FILE

Suddenly cricket became a real job.

“I’m one of the few lucky ones in NZ that I can call myself a professional cricketer, which is crazy to think. I remember when I first started playing domestic cricket when I was 14 back in NZ, we got paid $30 food allowance and that felt like a million dollars to me.”

But as women’s cricket in places like Australia and England continues to soar, it’s sad for her to watch on as female cricket in her homeland declines.

“The women’s game in NZ is on the deep decline … some reviews were done in the last couple of years that have said that women’s cricket is nearly extinct, literally about to die.”

Does that make her sad?
“Yeah. Real sad. And frustrated too. The opportunities here are crazy good. But you’d always like your national side to be doing well on the international stage.”

Aside from the Strikers, Devine also plays in the English Kia Super League for Loughborough Lightning over there.

Once this WBBL season finishes, Devine will head back to Wellington where she lives with her older sister and enjoy some downtime away from cricket. She’ll have a lot to reflect back on, including the “headband challenge” which she started across the WBBL when she challenged players from other teams to don their team’s headband and she’d donate $100 to the charity of their choice.

WBBL Adelaide Strikers laugh during a team photo shoot at Adelaide Oval in December, 2018. Devine, is middle row second from right. Picture: MATT TURNER.

This weekend, will be the challenge’s biggest yet, with the Strikers now donating $100 to Cancer Council SA and $100 to Youth Diabetes NZ for every player who wears a headband. That’s a potential $4400 split between the charities.

Youth Diabetes NZ is a charity close to Devine’s heart: she was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes when she was 15.

“This whole headband thing, I never expected it to take off the way it has. To think that me taking the mick out of wearing a headband has turned into something like this is unbelievable.”

It’s possible, however, that this could be her last season with the electric blues: her contract ends and it’s unsure whether she’ll resign.

“I’m definitely keeping my options open at the moment, as any cricketer will tell you, you’ve got to see what’s best for you at the time,” Devine says.

“I’d love to come back here: the facilities, the team, the people have all been world-class and I’ve got a great support staff around me. But I’ve always enjoyed and loved my time here in Adelaide so hopefully it can continue.”