Photo Credit: Perth Scorchers
Perth Scorchers’ Weber Women’s Big Bash League championship defence has received a significant boost, with title-winning skipper Sophie Devine signing on for another year.The New Zealand international’s powerful ball-striking, tactical nous and cool demeanour were central components of Perth’s most recent campaign, which ended with the Scorchers holding the WBBL trophy aloft in front of a record crowd at Optus Stadium.
Devine blasted 442 runs at 34 including one century and two half-centuries in 14 games last season, and formed a devastating partnership with Australia star and marquee WA recruit Beth Mooney atop the order.
A crafty medium-pace bowler, Devine also took 10 wickets at 19.60 and used her vast leadership experience to help her teammates flourish.
In turn, the 32-year-old was recently crowned Perth’s WBBL Player of the Year after also being in the WBBL07 Team of Tournament for a third consecutive season.
Despite having played just 26 games in orange, Devine sits sixth on the Scorchers’ all-time run-scoring table (902 runs at 41; two centuries, five half-centuries); has hit more sixes than any other Scorchers player (32); and boasts the best career strike-rate of any Scorchers player (127.40).
Reflecting on her contract extension, Devine said:
“It was a pretty easy choice for me to come back to the mighty orange, the last two years have been pretty special.
“Winning the title last year for the first time in the Club’s history is certainly motivation for me to grow something special with this group.
“We’ve got loads of experience, we’ve got the big names like Beth Mooney and Alana King, and we can mix in the local players like Chloe Piparo and Matilda Carmichael who played really nicely last year.
“We’ve got such a talented group which makes for a really exciting balance and I think getting that right is crucial to success. You can’t just rely on one or two people, it takes a full squad and that’s what we showed last year.”
WA Cricket General Manager – High Performance Kade Harvey said:
“We’re thrilled to have Sophie on board for another season.
“The positive impact she had while captaining Perth to its first WBBL title cannot be overstated.
“She is one of world cricket’s most powerful ball-strikers, and her leadership on and off the field has been exceptional ever since she arrived at the Club.”
