A usually happy-go-lucky Sophie Devine welled up when asked about her teammate, former captain and friend, Suzie Bates. Tears were already brimming at the surface given that New Zealand made its first World Cup semifinal since 2016, beating Pakistan in its final T20 World Cup group game in Dubai.
“Sometimes, I forget how lucky I’ve been to play with Suze. You talk to any cricketer who has had the joy of playing alongside her, against her, and they’ll say that she’s one of the greatest humans ever. And for us to be here in this tournament – it might be our last, who knows – to have a little moment there and connect.
“It is really special because we have been through a lot together. We’ve grown up together. She’s probably grown up a bit more than me (smirks),” an emotional Devine said.
Bates has seen the tides change around the White Ferns in world cricket since 2006. For her, memories of their first T20 World Cup final are still crystal clear.
“We hadn’t played a lot of T20 cricket. The ODI World Cup had just ended and we had lost to England in the final and then made the T20 World Cup final too at Lord’s. It was before the men’s game,” Bates told Sportstar.
‘I remember batting at Lord’s. That was pretty special for the first time. Having made it to the final, I was really gutted that we came second. Looking back, making two back-to-back finals in a short span of time was pretty cool. But, every edition we haven’t won is a huge disappointment because every team is there to win. We haven’t been able to do that since I’ve been in the side.”
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The White Ferns folded for just 85 in that game, but hindsight has softened that sting a little, 14 years on.
“When I was younger, especially those three World Cup finals that I played in early on, I wasn’t able to contribute how I would have liked with the bat. I was disappointed probably for a month afterwards and just really flat about how I went. I blamed myself a bit for the team’s performance which, looking back, was a bit silly.
Bates, hailed among the greatest cricketers her nation has produced, has been formally playing the game in higher tiers of competition since the age of 15. For a long time, she juggled basketball and cricket, even representing the Kiwis at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. Cricket became her sole priority when captaincy landed in her lap, but basketball was never discarded. She took on a coaching role with the Otago Nuggets in 2021 when shoulder surgery kept her away from cricket for much of the season.
She championed power hitting in the early eras of the T20 game in the women’s vertical and her performances made her one of the first formally-contracted players in New Zealand. As the most prolific scorer for the White Ferns, she has also cemented her place in the history books.
Evolving duties
In the ongoing T20 World Cup, the 37-year-old has been tasked with easing 20-year-old Georgia Plimmer onto the rocky road of opening the batting. That alongside helping Devine band the team together as it looked to get back on track after an abysmal 10-match losing streak coming into this World Cup.
“I’m probably a bit more of a realist of where the games are and how much England, Australia and India have grown. Although we’re not getting the results we used to against those nations as consistently, the game has just changed so much and the depth that they’ve developed makes them really competitive,” Bates added.
“I try not to look at the outcome and the results and I know that’s what everyone else looks at. For me, there’s got to be individual progress and clarity on how we’re growing as a team or where people are contributing. For my own sanity, I try to avoid looking at the wins and losses table and focus on whether I am contributing.”
Keeping up
New Zealand is one of the old powers of the sport, being the only nation besides England and Australia to win a World Cup (the 2000 ODI crown). But it has had to watch other nations like India and South Africa edge ahead due to concerted efforts in building a talent pool and raising standards of play.
With tournaments like the Hallyburton Johnstone Shield (50-over) and the Super Smash (20-over), New Zealand’s work to professional its cricketing spaces has been praiseworthy. However, there is another side to this story.
Outgoing captain Devine said earlier this year that ‘there isn’t much depth coming through. New Zealand is a small country and it doesn’t have millions of people playing cricket.’
While Bates (middle) agrees with Devine (right), she feels the rate of development has been natural for New Zealand but other countries have developed at a faster rate. | Photo Credit: Getty Images
“I don’t think it’s catching up. I think we’ve progressed as naturally as New Zealand would have wanted to with their resources and domestic structure,” Bates agreed.
“It’s just that, when England, Australia and India decided to invest in the women’s game, they progressed at faster rates with the players. They have the systems and a lot of money that has helped. It’s not like we’ve gone backwards. It’s just that the others have gone ahead at a faster rate.
“At some point, I have a feeling that the resources the others put in will plateau allowing us to draw level. It’s just that the bigger nations with more resources have jumped out in front.”
Never say never
As an individual player, Bates barely has a free window on her calendar. Right after the World Cup, she heads to Australia for a Women’s Big Bash League stint with Hobart Hurricanes.
This will be her fourth Women’s Big Bash League (WBBL) franchise after Adelaide Strikers, Perth Scorchers and the Sydney Sixers. Bates has travelled the world participating in leagues from WBBL and The Hundred (Oval Invincibles). She has also been a part of the Women’s T20 Challenge, the exhibition tournament that preceded the Women’s Premier League in India. She has also featured in the FairBreak Invitational, an ICC-sanctioned T20 tournament featuring a larger pool of Associate Nation players.
At her age and with her all-round skill, now whittled down primarily to batting, critics do postulate whether teams should begin looking past her to a potentially younger talent pool. It has prompted Bates to look within and figure out how she wanted to play her cricket. Over time, she has made peace with the outcomes of being a risk-taking opener.
“When I first started T20 cricket, scores were between 100 and 120. Sometimes, you could get a 50 off 50 balls and put your team in a losing position. Everyone started chasing strike rates and that did make things difficult at times in different conditions and with varying paces of bowling. Slow outfields and grounds also come into play. So for me, adaptability, over anything else, and grinding out a win have been the top skills.”
In the ongoing T20 World Cup, the 37-year-old has been tasked with easing 20-year-old Georgia Plimmer onto the rocky road of opening the batting. | Photo Credit: Getty Images
The direction of the wind in the player market is not lost on Bates who has approached franchise opportunities with pragmatism.
“About a decade ago, there weren’t too many opportunities. Slowly, something new popped up. From the Kia Super League to the WBBL, it came to me and I was like, I want to be a part of that!
“At one stage, I needed to play as much as possible for it to make financial sense. Now I am in a situation where I know I can’t play forever, so every opportunity coming my way is an opportunity I might not get in the future.”
‘I’ve never felt like I’ve been in a position to want to say no. Having played this game for about 20 years now, playing international cricket is impossible to maintain. I’ll play till my arms fall off and then I’ll be done.”
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Stepping down from the captaincy of the White Ferns got a big load off Bates’ shoulders and allowed her career room for exploration.
“Giving up captaincy rejuvenated my own career. As soon as you don’t feel like going to training or don’t feel like you want to get better or you don’t find the joy of running out onto the field with the girls, that’s when you know. And the hard thing for me is I can’t imagine losing that; I love training.”
Carrying the weight of the ecosystem back home has also worn out Devine and Bates says she hopes to convince her friend and colleague to stick around for longer.
“We’ve had those chats, Sophie and I, about what her plans are because that’s a big hole both of us will leave, but I also stay out of that. We keep talking about our own plans and what we’re going to do after and when that might be. I want Sophie to hang on and so I’m sort of convincing her to play.”
For the time being, the Bates-Devine-White Ferns wish list has just one item on it.
“Literally a World Cup win. That’s it. Everything else comes next.”
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