White Ferns captain Sophie Devine had the cricket world in awe with a display of power batting that rocked the record books - but left the biggest impression on a young fan at Dunedin's University Oval.
Batting for her Wellington Blaze, the all-rounder recorded her ton off just 36 balls - the fastest 100 in women's T20 cricket, beating the 38-ball effort from West Indian Deandra Dottin against South African in 2010.
The innings was also the fastest T20 century in New Zealand, beating Tim Seifert's 40-ball innings for Northern Districts three years ago and the second fastest by any Kiwi, behind Martin Guptill's 35-ball ton for Worchestershire against Northhamptonshire the following year.
But Devine's celebrations were cut short, after she watched the towering six that brought up the landmark hit a young girl watching from the banks.
Players directed St Johns staff to the injured fan and as soon as she completed a 10-wicket Super Smash win over Otago Sparks, Devine strolled across the field to check on the casualty, who had an ice pack on her face from the impact.
Despite the shock, the youngster is apparently in good health and received a signed jersey from her home team afterwards. Devine also returned with a signed cap and posed for a pic with her new biggest fan.
The NZ skipper, who only recently emerged from COVID-19 quarantine after her stint in the Australian Big Bash League, finished unbeaten on 108 runs and helped the Blaze achieve their target of 129 in just nine overs. Fellow opener Maddy Green contributed 20 to the run chase.
"I was really nervous this morning," she says. "Whenever you have a bit of an extended break way from the game, you get nervous about can you come back into it.
"It was nice to just spend some time in the middle and get a few out of the screws."
