In an opening win over Sri Lanka that saw Sophie Devine crack 75* for Aotearoa's White Ferns, contributions from other team members offer the most encouraging signs. In chasing 128 for victory, Devine did what she has done in her last five T20I games to score 50+ and this is a run-scoring extravaganza that started this time last year in the third T20I vs India, then all through the recent series vs South Africa.

Devine has played T20I cricket since 2006, although 2009 was the first year in which Devine played more than one game. Since 2009, Devine has had very respectable annual T20I batting averages generally between 20-35 and only twice has Devine averaged over 50; 2019 and now 2020. If you're not a fan of sussing batting averages from rather small sample sizes, perhaps the fact that Devine has batted in eight innings since the start of 2019 and scored 50+ in seven of those eight innings.

How is Devine dealing with being the White Ferns skipper? Devine averaged 31.23/122.04sr under Suzie Bates and 30avg/128.20sr with Amy Satterthwaite as captain, which explodes into 79avg/161.22 when Devine is leading Aotearoa. That can be flipped into 79avg/161.22sr as captain and 28.65avg/121.90sr when not captain.

This is where the bulk of Aotearoa's hopes for T20 World Cup success rest. To think that Devine can drag the Ferns to this success is silly though and there is a very realistic scenario at play where Devine could finish up as the best player at this World Cup and Aotearoa can't make it past the group stage. To compete against the best teams, Aoteaeroa need their entire squad to contribute and while Devine's brilliance is lovely, there were positive signs elsewhere in the Ferns win over Sri Lanka.

Hayley Jensen's 3w @ 4rpo were crucial in keeping a lid on Sri Lanka's inning. Taking her first wicket to have Sri Lanka 99/3 in the 15th over, Jensen took another wicket in that over and Sri Lanka grabbed less than 30 runs in their last 5 overs.

Offering a fairly unique style in this White Ferns group, Jensen is the type seamer who flows into the crease and makes bowling look rather easy. Blend that in with a heavy-ball type of style and it's no coincidence that Jensen performed strongly in Perth, which bodes well considering the different styles and skills of the White Ferns bowling unit.

Amelia Kerr also took 2w @ 5.25rpo, Lea Tahuhu took 1w @ 4.50rpo and Sophie Devine took 1w @ 9rpo. Jess Kerr went for 9rpo from her 1ov and Leigh Kasperek went for 7.25rpo from 4ov. The main selection decision here would have been picking Kerr ahead of Holly Huddleston or Rosemary Mair, yet even if those pieces are switched, I'm encouraged by the range of options available.

Jensen's wickets low key represent an important vibe for Aotearoa in this World Cup as they are desperate for varied contributions. In coming games, Jensen may not have such an impact, which is when another bowler will stand up to plug that hole. Similar for Maddy Green with the bat as she hit 29 @ 145sr in support of Devine and for some context about Green's international tenure; this was Green's third 20+ score in her whole T20I career of 34inns.

Also, Green's highest T20I score. The amazing thing here is that two of Green's 20+ scores have come in 2020, with the other in the series vs South Africa. That's why Green's averaging 11.11 in T20I cricket and hence this was a key knock for Green as she starts the tournament with confidence.

Playing in Australia may be a factor for Green as she was solid in the Brisbane Heat's WBBL championship run a few months ago. Green scored 309 runs @ 20.60avg/112.36sr and while she wasn't a dominant force, Green finished as Brisbane's third leading run-scorer and operated in a similar role to what she's up to with this White Ferns team. Not in terms of batting position, but in the sense that Green had to do her job in support of other players for Brisbane and Aotearoa need Green to do her job at this World Cup.

Sometimes that job might be finishing an innings, sometimes it may be supporting a hitter like Devine either by feeding her the strike or taking pressure off the hitter with boundaries from Green. Sometimes Jensen is going to have to find a wicket, sometimes Jensen may need to score runs instead of bowling 4ov. This first game for the White Ferns was all about those different contributions and if these are sprinkled around Devine (and Bates') dominance, then we have the recipe.

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Peace and love 27.