The New Zealand women’s cricket team suffered a big blow on Sunday as top-order batter Suzie Bates was ruled out of the final two One-Day Internationals with a shoulder injury. Bates, 33, hurt her shoulder on Saturday while fielding at Allan Border Field in Brisbane in the first ODI which Australia won by seven wickets to take a 1-0 lead in the series.
“Losing Suzie for the remaining two matches is obviously a big loss,” White Ferns coach Bob Carter said in a statement on Sunday. “Any time you lose a player with well over 100 ODIs of experience and a wealth of runs, it’s hard to replace them.”
Bates had undergone scans, which were being reviewed by New Zealand Cricket’s medical staff to determine the extent of the injury, the team added. She joins Lauren Down on the sidelines with the 25-year-old out of the second match on Monday with a “minor” elbow injury she sustained in the Twenty20 series.
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“She has been showing plenty of promise in the nets and we remain hopeful she will play a part in this series,” Carter added.
“We have an extended squad in Australia, so as a coaching group we’ll look at our options.”
The third and final ODI is on Wednesday, with New Zealand needing to win both of the remaining games to claim back the Rose Bowl, which Australia has held since 2000.
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