New Zealand captain and veteran batswoman Sophie Devine hit the fastest century in women’s T20 cricket when she slammed a 36-ball century on 15th January 2021.
She achieved this remarkable feat in a domestic match against Otago Sparks, hitting nine sixes and seven fours and helping her Wellington Blaze team to a 10-wicket victory. Thanks to her effort, Wellington Blaze reached the target of 129 in a mere 8.4 overs in the Super Smash.
She remained unbeaten, scoring 108 runs off just 38 balls.
1 2 3 4 . 4 . . 1 4 4 6 6 1 2 1 1 . 1 4 6 6 4 . 4 1 6 6 1 6 . 6 . 2 1 6 4 4
The No.1 T20I all-rounder, Sophie Devine, smashed a 38-ball 108* for Wellington Blaze, setting a new record of the fastest women’s T20 century ?
? @SuperSmashNZ pic.twitter.com/yoAwOoqGDi
— ICC (@ICC) January 14, 2021
She surpassed the record created by Deandra Dottin of the West Indies, who took 38 balls to reach a century in South Africa in 2010.
Devine broke quite a few national and international records with her magnificent knock.
Her century was the fastest T20 century in the island nation of New Zealand, beating Tim Seifert’s 40-ball effort for Northern Districts in Mount Maunganui in 2017. It is also the third-fastest Twenty20 century by any New Zealand player, just behind Martin Guptill’s 35-ball ton for Worcestershire against Northamptonshire in 2018 and Scott Styris’ 37-ball century in 2012 for Sussex against Gloucestershire. Also, only nine men have scored centuries faster than Devine in T20 cricket.
Her achievement was even more astounding considering that this was her first match after a fortnight’s Covid-19 quarantine following a stint with the Perth Scorchers in Australia’s Women’s Big Bash League.
“I was really nervous this morning. Whenever you have an extended break away from the game, you get nervous about whether you can come back into it,” she said.
“So it was just nice to spend some time in the middle and get a few out of the screws.”
Interestingly, the 31-year-old Devine is a double international: she has represented New Zealand in both cricket and field hockey. In her cricketing career, she started off as a seam bowler but slowly moved to batting, becoming a mainstay in the New Zealand women’s cricket team.
Isn’t this just a superhuman effort? What do you think? Let us know your views in the comments section below.
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