It might only be a few overs and far from her full run-up, but for White Ferns captain Sophie Devine, just being back in the nets after two weeks in isolation is enough.
Devine recently completed her 14 days in a quarantine facility after returning from Australia and has reconnected with teammates as they begin to prepare for a summer of uncertain cricket.
Devine told 1 NEWS her isolation experience was difficult to describe.
“I can't say I overly enjoyed it but you make do,” she said.
With no equipment to hand other than a few tennis balls, Devine admitted it was effectively an enforced cricketing detox.
“I didn’t watch too much Netflix but I did a lot of yoga and colouring-in,” she said.
“It probably sounds like a 5-year-old sort of thing but I find mental health-wise, it's good for me to completely chill out and unwind.”
But she conceded that unwinding also likely undid some of the work she'd put in over the past few months in Perth, where she trained with the Western Australia squad during the Covid-19 crisis.
“The ability for me to go over there and train with 14-15 other girls day in day out, I think it was hugely beneficial for me,” she said.
“It’s a bit frustrating – I'd sort of built some momentum in Perth in terms of loads, so I have to come back and start again.”
But now that she’s back in New Zealand, Devine can link up with the full White Ferns squad and said it can't come soon enough.
“I was certainly missing home and seeing the girls back in training, I did get a bit of jealousy.”
And she'll be returning into camp for the first time as the permanent captain after replacing Amy Satterthwaite earlier this month – a move she’s discussed with her predecessor.
“It's a huge honour to have that role for any amount of time [but] I know Amy was disappointed and fair enough, too.
We had a really great catchup before I came out of quarantine - I obviously had a lot of time to fill - and we had a good chat about how to move this team forward because we've made some great steps the last 12 months.”
But what the next 12 months will look like, especially with the women’s World Cup still up in the air, is anybody's guess.
“I'd be lying if I said it's been all rosy and everything is fine.
“There's definitely moments, where lost motivation, frustration at not knowing schedule and things, but in greater scheme, this is a massive event that nobody in the world was prepared to deal with.”
So instead, focus turns to what can be prepared for starting off with a training on home soil.
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