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Women’s T20 World Cup 2026: New Zealand’s campaign in the Women’s T20 World Cup 2026 ended with a 9-wicket defeat against England. This defeat in the last match of the group stage played at The Oval ground in London not only ended the tournament for the Kiwi team, but also put an end to a golden period of New Zealand women’s cricket.

After this match, three veteran players of the team, Sophie Devine, Suzie Bates and Lee Tahuhu said goodbye to international cricket. All three had announced their retirement even before the start of the tournament. Although his last match did not end with victory, his brilliant career gave a new identity to New Zealand cricket.

5 big things to career and match

1. Suzie Bates retired as the most successful and most international capped player in the history of New Zealand women’s cricket. In his illustrious career, he played 370 international matches and made the record of scoring the most runs for New Zealand by scoring 10,721 runs.

2. In her nearly 20-year long international career, Sophie Devine played 317 matches for New Zealand. He scored 4,279 runs in ODI cricket and 3,817 runs in T20 International. Apart from this, his performance in bowling was also excellent and he took 241 wickets in his name. Due to her contribution in both batting and bowling, she is counted among New Zealand’s greatest all-rounders.

3. New Zealand’s experienced fast bowler Lee Tahuhu played 207 matches in his 15-year long international career and took 225 wickets. Tahuhu, who consistently performed impressively with the new ball, was an important link in the Kiwi bowling attack for a long time.

4. To commemorate the farewell of the three legendary players, the players and support staff of both New Zealand and England teams lined up together on the field and gave them a ‘guard of honour’. This emotional moment became very special for the spectators present in the stadium as well as for the cricket lovers.

5. Batting first in the match, New Zealand scored 163 runs for 6 wickets in 20 overs. Captain Amelia Kerr scored the highest score of 42 runs in 34 balls for the team. At the same time, in her last international match, Sophie Devine played an explosive inning of 30 runs in just 14 balls, which included three brilliant sixes. Suzie Bates also scored 19 runs in 13 balls, although she was run out on the last ball of the innings.