Sophie Devine slams World Cup scheduling after rain washes out Pakistan clash

COLOMBO: New Zealand captain Sophie Devine voiced her frustration over the scheduling of the ongoing Women’s World Cup after her side’s clash against Pakistan was washed out due to persistent rain on Saturday. 

Only 25 overs of play were possible at the R. Premadasa Stadium before the downpour brought an early end to the contest.

New Zealand appeared to have the upper hand after opting to bowl first and reducing Pakistan to 92 for 5. 

However, rain once again denied them a potential victory — the second time in the tournament that a New Zealand fixture has ended without a result. 

The Kiwis now sit on four points from five matches, leaving them in a precarious position in the race for the semifinals.

This was the sixth time in ten matches that rain has disrupted play in Colombo, with four games completely washed out.

"You must feel we were in a decent position today, you just needed the rain to hold off, and unfortunately, it didn't happen today," Devine said in the post match presentation. "It's extremely frustrating. You wait four years for a World Cup, and to have rain play such a massive part in it, it is disappointing.

"Hopefully, in future editions, they might consider starting games earlier in the day. We've obviously seen here that the rain usually comes in the afternoon, so there's a real opportunity to play these matches at 10 or 11 AM and actually get a game in. All the teams want to play cricket. You've waited so long to be here, you want to test yourself against the best, and to be scuppered by rain is a real shame for me."

New Zealand aren’t the only side affected by the weather. Both Sri Lanka and Pakistan have had two of their matches abandoned, while England and Australia have also suffered one washout each. 

Remarkably, Sri Lanka have seen rain impact four out of their five matches so far.

Saturday’s abandoned fixture confirmed South Africa’s place in the semifinals, joining Australia as the second team to secure qualification. 

If England defeat India on Sunday, they too will advance, leaving New Zealand to fight it out with India and Bangladesh for the remaining semifinal spot.

"We really wanted to play today," Devine said. "We were up and about for this match, and we just wanted to be out there playing cricket. But now, the situation is extremely clear, we just need to win both games, starting with India in Mumbai."

"It's a big challenge, but we're really excited about it. I know the girls don't need any extra motivation to take them on. We'll head back to India tomorrow and look forward to those challenges. We were so focused on these games here in Colombo, we wanted to give them our full focus.

"Luckily, we've got a few days now before the next game against India, so we'll prepare really well. We've had some good experiences against them recently, including in the World Cup last year, and we'll draw on those. But we also know they're huge favourites, playing at home, in conditions that suit them, with threats throughout the lineup. But again, this is what you want, to play against the best teams in their own backyard and put yourself under pressure. We're really looking forward to that challenge."

New Zealand will face India on October 23 in Navi Mumbai before wrapping up their league campaign against England in Visakhapatnam on October 26.