When Sophie Devine walks out to face England in what will be her final ODI, it will mark the end of an era for New Zealand cricket. The captain had announced, before the start of the 2025 World Cup in India, her decision to retire from the format at the end of the tournament - a departure that's now coinciding with an early exit.

For over a decade, Devine has been the essence of the White Ferns' group - a fearsome all-rounder, a fierce competitor, and a leader whose impact extended far beyond the scorecards. But speak to her teammates and you realise that her impact on New Zealand cricket stretches much further back - she once babysat her teammate Amelia Kerr.

"I think I must have been too young to remember that," says Kerr, "but I do remember when I was a young kid going and watching the Wellington Blaze play, and specifically watching her and idolising her. I'd see her sometimes at the nets that I'd train at and she was always so good to me. I remember she gave me some of her old playing tops for the White Ferns and some of her batting gloves. Because she grew up in Tawa where I grew up, she was a role model for me coming from a small place and being able to achieve what she has achieved. It was special when I first got to play for Wellington with her as a teammate."

Kerr referenced Devine's 'follow me' approach to captaincy, which also rubbed off on Lea Tahuhu. "I think she's incredibly fearless the way that she goes about it. I think she's an incredibly humble person as well. She's able to grab a game and grab her team and say, 'Follow me, this is what we've got to do to get a win here. And this is what we're going to have to give'. The way that she's been able to play through and have such a long international career with diabetes as well and manage that, it's incredibly special."

Yet none have witnessed Devine's two-decade-long journey more closely than teammate and close friend, Suzie Bates. Together, the pair have carried the torch for New Zealand cricket as leaders, mentors and also, as their teammates affectionately call them, the "grandmas". As Devine prepares to take the field one last time in 50-overs cricket, Bates reflects on their shared journey, the bond that shaped a generation of White Ferns cricket, and the legacy she leaves behind.

Exactly a year ago in Dubai when you guys won the World Cup, there was a long hug you shared with Sophie before your teammates came over. Can you recall what was said in that moment?

Bates: We've played in this team for such a long time together and we've grown up to be adults together in this team. Sophie and I are quite different, but there's so many similarities about us as well. There's just so much respect there in terms of how Sophie goes about her game and the pressure that's been on her as a player and as a captain. Having been captain myself, and having failed as a captain to win World Cups, I'm able to really empathise with the extra stuff that goes into those tournaments.

For that whole over, I think she was at mid on, and I was at mid wicket. With each ball it was getting closer. We didn't want to quite celebrate, but we were just sort of looking at each other like, 'Is this really going to happen?' And when the final ball had been bowled, it was just that jubilation of: 'We've actually done this.'

There's been other players that have been through all those times, but she was there in 2009 and she's been there ever since at World Cups with me, and we've been in the changing room when we haven't succeeded. So, to have that moment and to finally get that winning feeling, it was just super special to have her out on the field and as a captain. How she led that group, I was just so proud of her.

It's going to be a strange feeling when she's not here and I'm not here, but I'm sure we're going to have plenty of fond memories and keep in touch. But yeah, it was just a hug. I think we might have just said, 'Oh my God, oh my goodness, we did it!'

If I ask you to go 20 years back, to the time when you guys first connected with each other as international teammates, what was that connection based off? And, how has that relationship evolved over the years into this fantastic personal and professional rapport that we see between the two of you?

If I'm brutally honest, it was probably a very competitive relationship at first. She was the player domestically that was a similar age to me that I thought she was the best young player in the country. I wanted to be the best and so what she did, I wanted to do better. We were both allrounders, we both played another sport, and so it was sort of trying to keep up with her, and about challenging each other to be better with fitness and things [like that] early on. Then it grew into trying to be the best players we could be to move the team forward.

When you're young, you're sort of looking, 'Oh, who's the best young thing going around', and then you get a bit older and it's about the team. I knew by us bringing our most competitive selves that we'd hopefully increase the competitiveness of the group and that's what it's evolved into. We're still the ones that are in the gym if there's any competition. We might not move as well as we used to but we're the ones trying to win, but in a really healthy way. And, I think that's what we want to leave with this group is we want to compete every ball, but it's not to be the best - it's for the White Ferns to get better as a group.

Sophie came into the team as a fast bowler, and then she goes on to become one of the most dependable all-rounders in cricket and even a World Cup winning captain now. What part of this evolution and growth has inspired you, or maybe you've seen some of your teammates take an inspiration from her journey?

Her and Melie [Amelia Kerr] talk about how they both started batting at 9 or 10 in the White Ferns. I was a bit different, my first game was at 9 but then the second game I was opening at the top of the order. But those two talk to the likes of Eden Carson or Jess Kerr about being motivated to be all-rounders and contribute with bat and ball. Sophie and Melie have been the best all-rounders that we've had in the last decade, so that inspires some of our other girls that if they're batting at 9 they can work their way up the order.

But for me with Sophie, it's just the tough runs that she scores. There was a stat around the last two 50-over World Cups where she scored a bulk of our runs. She can take time away from the game but when she comes to these World Cup events for New Zealand she literally empties the tank out on the field, and that's inspirational for me. She really leads by example with making sure that she's giving everything to this group and she's really stepped up for us in World Cups.

When you think of Sophie's impact on New Zealand cricket over nearly two decades, what is that one thing that stands out the most to you?

It's hard to put it into one thing but I just think the way she's played her cricket and the way she's made oppositions fear her is something that I will never forget. Being able to open or bat with a player like Sophie, you grow 10 feet taller because you know the bowler does not want to miss.

To play that fearless cricket, to stay true to her brand, but also to be able to adapt to different situations. If people think about Sophie, it's how destructive she is and how she led by example, with always playing in that manner. No matter how she was going, she knew if she hit the ball hard the other team were on the back foot, and that's where the game's also going. I'm sure we'll produce more players that hit the ball hard but I don't think we're ever going to produce another Sophie Devine - which is maybe a good thing.

Looking ahead, how would you see Sophie's legacy influence the next generation of White Ferns players?

That motivation to be true all-rounders - top-order batters that bowl pace - is just the way she's revolutionized the game. If you were trying to make a career in cricket you would want to play like Sophie Devine - hit sixes, hit the ball hard, be able to bowl, be able to field. She's the player that is probably still made for 20 years' time. There's not many players that you would say are generational, and sort of suited the last decade but will also suit the next two decades of where the game's going. If you want to aspire to be a power player, which is where the game's heading, I think there's no one better to look at. Even if you don't have that raw power, I think it's just that way to intimidate the bowler and put them under pressure.

Can you recall a moment in the field or in training just off the field where Sophie's leadership has truly defined what this White Ferns team stands for?

Sophie and I are so different. I'm probably calm - she's also very calm - but I am probably softer with my words, whereas if Sophie wants more from the group she wears her heart on her sleeve and she demands more. If there's times in the field where she's been a bit grumpy with what we've been giving and she's given us a bit of a rack-up, when she does that she often takes the ball and bowls and leads by example and sets the tone. So, I think it's just her ability to sense when a group's a bit flat and then her ability to be the one that influences the game. As a leader that's really important - leading from the front and giving us a few hard words when we need it.

Beyond statistics, what do you think her legacy will be, not just for White Ferns but also for women's sport in New Zealand?

I don't think you'll remember Sophie's stats, you'll just remember how she played the game and how hard she hit the ball, and how competitive she was and how silly she could be as well if you knew her off the field. Look, she's a World Cup-winning captain. Now we've got two White Ferns, Emily Drum and her, so that's a pretty cool legacy to be a part of. I just think watching that footage - like I said in 20 years' time - young players are going to be like, 'Wow she hit the ball hard'. And even when the game evolves she's still going to hit the ball as hard as anyone.

How has she managed that knack of being so intense and yet so humorous at the same time?

I think she would admit that she's probably only got that right in the last five years. I think when she first came on the scene, it was all silly and coaches maybe got a little bit frustrated wondering if she was switched on. But when she crossed the white line she was always in the fight. Being captain and sometimes having expectations as a player, you can go away from that true authentic self which brings the best out in you. But when she's just been so comfortable as captain and leader of this team, she's really allowed herself to be that person and not have to be so serious. The young girls have really responded to that silly nature because they realise - although they're slightly intimidated by her because she's so intimidating on the field - but off the field, she's just one of the girls who has the most ridiculous jokes. When she's in a silly mood she's got the whole team laughing. At her.

You both have shared incredible highs and also some incredible lows together. Now you call yourself the 'grandmas' of the team - your words, not mine. If you have to sum up Sophie in one word, what does she mean to you?

She's just been my greatest inspiration in terms of having someone to compete with, but also to have as a friend. We are the people we are because of this journey we've been through, and we've learnt from our failures and mistakes and we've grown up together. I'll just always have so much respect for how she's inspired me throughout this journey to be better. So that's probably the one word I'd use - inspirational.

You speak so much of the healthy competitiveness between the two of you, I don't think you've spoken enough about the lows you've shared. Of how you've been each others' shoulders to lean on always, through your own captaincy as well...

There's so much trust there with Soph. I felt like at times I could talk to her about anything that I was dealing with and what I was struggling with. The disappointment of World Cups that we probably took on our shoulders a lot. Being able to be truly open and honest about that and feel like we were both just wanting the same thing and, I guess, putting our own interests aside to try and get what was best for the team. So, there's that huge amount of trust to be completely honest with where I was at, and not feeling like she was ever trying to undermine me as a captain.

She was always there to support and I remember when she did become captain I sort of couldn't wait to help her where I could. I'm so grateful that she's done the job because it's allowed me to enjoy my cricket more than ever because of her leadership. So, knowing you are stepping out of that role and you had Amy [Satterthwaite - captain after Bates stepped aside] and Sophie Devine to step in, it made that decision so easy because I had so much trust in those girls. I'm just really proud of how we worked through those low times and how we just kept on chipping away. To get that World Cup just meant the world to us because we knew it hadn't been easy. But that's sport - if it was easy no one would do it. We sort of embraced those lows because we know the highs would be even better.

You said her being around, and later becoming the captain, allowed you to play and enjoy your cricket more. Can you elaborate?

The leadership that her and Ben [Sawyer, head coach] have shown, and the trust they have in the group, has meant I can still contribute to it as a leader without being captain. It has really allowed me to enjoy my cricket. Everyone knows you're there to score runs, but if you're not scoring runs, you want to contribute and Sophie's really given me that space even without the title.

So, yeah, I do owe a lot to her and it's going to be a sad moment when we do that last walk-out together for 50-over cricket. We don't know what the future holds for either of us but I'm sure if we're in the same space, or we're at cricket, we're going to just have a laugh about some of the good times and some of the bad times.