Touching moment as New Zealand star Amelia Kerr leads T20 World Champions in tribute to retiring skipper

Matt Shrivell
The Nightly
Amelia Kerr led a beautiful tribute to New Zealand’s retiring skipper.
Amelia Kerr led a beautiful tribute to New Zealand’s retiring skipper. Credit: AAP

The Kiwi White Ferns’ all-rounder Amelia Kerr was the player of the tournament in the recent T20 final, but the rising superstar has shown she has some hidden talents in an unbelievable tribute to her skipper.

A barefoot Kerr, flanked by the rest of her world champion team, produced a guitar before leading an emotional rendition of the Maori ballad ‘Te Iwi e’ barefoot on the pitch in Dubai.

The pitch-perfect rendition was punctuated with some giggles and teary adoration for their captain, Sophie Devine who is standing down as leader, plus an even stronger connection to their heritage and the enormity of the task they had accomplished.

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Kerr later explained her adoration for Devine, 35, who she watched as a schoolgirl in 2010 when the White Ferns lost by three runs to Australia.

“From that moment I was at the nets with my dad pretending I was batting with Sophie,” Kerr said.

“When I was at primary school in creative writing, I wrote about winning a World Cup with Sophie.”

Kerr said of her surreal moment of making history with her childhood hero: “It’s what dreams are made of.”

The tribute song - ‘Te Iwi e’, is a traditional Māori waiata that unifies people together in harmony and melody.

A song that remembers those who have passed and their contribution and also those who have helped along the way.

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