Sophie Devine

At Tawa College, cricket and hockey became her main pursuits, and she competed alongside the boys. In her last year there she earned an award for taking the most wickets of the season, an honour that New Zealand fast bowler Mark Gillespie had collected twelve months earlier. Hockey remained a serious ambition too: she reached national level and came close to selection for the Black Sticks squad for the 2008 Beijing Olympics. Missing that chance did not hold her back for long, as a first professional women's cricket contract soon followed.

Devine was 17 when the White Ferns first selected her in 2006, but it took her nearly four years to secure a regular spot. She began as a seamer before, like many teammates, putting more emphasis on her batting, and she managed a couple of half-centuries in 2010. Her real breakthrough was an innings of 145 against South Africa in the opening match of a Women's World Cup staged in India, after which she became a dependable presence in the side.

Her power hitting produced a half-century from just 18 deliveries against India in Bengaluru, recorded as the fastest fifty in Women's Twenty20 Internationals, and she ended that innings on 70 from 22 balls. The right-hander has never abandoned her medium pace either, and her bowling adds another option for her team. Together with fellow all-rounders Suzie Bates and Amy Satterthwaite, she has formed the backbone of the White Ferns.