Sophie Devine 'years for an opportunity to pull on the whites'

New Zealand women haven’t played a Test since 2004

Devine, only the third New Zealand woman to play 100 T20Is, said she yearns for “the opportunity to pull on the whites,” a reality that has eluded her in an international career spanning nearly 15 years. New Zealand women haven’t played a Test since 2004.

“I know certainly from my career, I have been pretty vocal about [the fact that] I would love to play Test cricket and certainly I would love to see the format used in the Ashes,” Devine said. “And, it’s going to be played in the Australia-India series, with, I guess, points carried across all formats. That’s a great way to play and keep the pressure on throughout the series.”

“Look, I’d absolutely love to play Test cricket, I’d absolutely love to take on the Aussies, I’d love to play India obviously, love to play England, anyone – just to have the opportunity to pull on the whites. It’s something I haven’t been able to do in my longish career.

“I would love to see more Test cricket in the women’s arena. It’s fantastic that there are two Test matches of his year, which is the most in quite a while. So, I will certainly be watching that game (Australia vs India, starting September 30) with interest.”

“I love that it’s been spoken about. I wouldn’t say it’s going to be the new norm [against all teams] but imagine the Kiwis (New Zealand) standing up and saying, ‘We’d be really interested in playing one of these multi-format series,” Healy said at Fox Cricket’s launch of Australia’s seven-match home series against India that begins on September 21.

“These multi format series are really fun to be a part of and the point structure is just a whole other ball game,” she said. “I never thought we’d have two Tests in the one summer… to be able to play against India and then England in the Ashes is really exciting. My Baggy Green is tucked nicely in my backpack and hopefully I can pull it on my head twice [this summer].”