Women's World Cup Drama: Rain Ruins New Zealand's Playoff Hopes

The match was called off after lengthy spells of rain at the R. Premadasa Stadium in Sri Lanka's capital. It was the fourth washout fixture at the venue and the second involving New Zealand in the tournament so far. Their last match against South Africa was also abandoned due to rain earlier this week.

With this, New Zealand have a very slim chance of securing a berth in the final four of the showpiece spectacle, and the disappointment was visible in Sophie's words.

"I hope you were watching that South Africa game the other night, where they were off for five hours and still managed to squeak in a win," said Devine.

"So, yeah, look, you must feel you were in a decent position today, you just needed the rain to hold off, and unfortunately, it didn't happen for you," she 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," she said.

Devine urged the organisers to consider scheduling adjustments for upcoming matches at the venue to avoid similar disruptions.

"I think, 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 a.m. and actually get a game in. Because that's what 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. It's pretty flat. We really wanted to play today. We were up and about for this match, and we just wanted to be out there playing cricket," she added.

With the washout, New Zealand now face a must-win scenario in their final two matches - against India and England.

"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 that we wanted to give them our full focus. But luckily, we've got a few days now before the next game against India, so we'll prepare really well," she added.

Reflecting on their upcoming opponents, Devine said, "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."

- IANS