Sophie Devine has set her sights on the upcoming Women's Big Bash League (WBBL) as the target for her competitive comeback following a severe grade 3C calf tear that cut short her stint in The Hundred. The 36-year-old New Zealand allrounder sustained the injury after captaining Welsh Fire for just four matches, leaving her facing a lengthy rehabilitation period.
The setback follows a disappointing international farewell for Devine, whose final tournament with New Zealand ended in a group-stage exit at the T20 World Cup in June alongside veteran teammates Suzie Bates and Lea Tahuhu. The defending champions missed out on a fairytale ending, and Devine's subsequent run in The Hundred was halted prematurely by the calf injury.
With an expected recovery timeline of eight to 12 weeks, Devine is aiming to be ready for the WBBL season, which begins on October 29, even though the league has yet to finalize its overseas player recruitment model. Devine is a veteran of the competition, having played in all 11 previous WBBL seasons, spending the first five with the Adelaide Strikers and the last six with the Perth Scorchers.
"It's pretty frustrating," Devine said of the injury. "Everyone knows injuries are part of sports and I've been pretty lucky to – there's no point touching wood now – but to have not had too many bad ones. But I've done a fair job of the calf, tearing at a decent grade, 3C, so [I'm] looking at a pretty lengthy rehab recovery for that."
She added: "It is a decent rehab. [I'm] looking at between eight to 12 weeks, so targeting Big Bash is the next thing for me, which is a really good goal, making sure that I get this right. I've been told by a number of people – both medical professionals and not – that this is an older-person injury, so I really want to make sure that I get this right and that it doesn't keep popping up. But that's a really good target for me, to have an opportunity to go back to basics and get this body right and hopefully go around for another couple more years."
Devine has chosen to remain with Welsh Fire for the remainder of their campaign, even as Australian allrounder Georgia Wareham took over the captaincy. Devine originally joined the franchise from Birmingham Phoenix as the joint-highest earner at the inaugural player auction alongside Beth Mooney, who went to Trent Rockets for £210,000. Welsh Fire, who finished at the bottom of the table in 2025 with only Sarah Bryce and Georgia Davis remaining from that squad, are finishing an inconsistent season on Wednesday, seeking a fourth victory in eight matches during a dead-rubber clash against London Spirit at Sophia Gardens.
"When we were good, we were very good and when we were poor, we were very poor," Devine said of Welsh Fire's 2026 season. "That isn't through a lack of skill or anything like that, because we saw glimpses throughout this competition of how good we could be. For us, it was just our lack of ability to back it up and to have consistent performances. It's disappointing for us. We know that the depth that we've got in this side and the quality of players that we've got throughout, we certainly were hoping for a bit better this tournament, but hopefully if we can keep the core group together and start to really build something, I'm really excited about hopefully having some success in the next couple of years."
Despite the team's mixed results, Devine highlighted several young players who have impressed her. She praised 21-year-old left-arm orthodox spinner Sophia Smale, calling her "super effective." Devine also lauded seam bowler Grace Potts, the team's second-highest wicket-taker this year who took 3 for 24 against MI London, highlighting her ability to bowl 15 to 20 balls out of a 25-ball powerplay. Additionally, she noted the potential of 19-year-old Durham allrounder Grace Thompson, comparing her technique and height to Australia's Cameron Green.
"I'm really grateful to the Welsh Fire for letting me stay on board and just to be around this group," Devine said. "I've absolutely loved my time. I would have loved to have been out on the park with them. Welsh Fire have been fantastic and it was sort of a no-brainer for me to want to stay around. Unfortunately, we couldn't kick on a bit further in the tournament, but I know that this group's got some really promising signs."
Devine spoke in support of KP Snacks' Everyone In Fund, an initiative created in partnership with the ECB's Cricket Cities programme to remove barriers and create opportunities for participation in cricket.
