Women’s T20 World Cup 2024: Suzie Bates’ buzzer beater ‘Michael Jordan moment’ takes New Zealand to the final

In Suzie Bates’ 333rd appearance for New Zealand in international cricket, she faced the match’s first ball with the bat, and took charge of the last over to give her nation the right to dream of a maiden World T20 title.

New Zealand’s Suzie Bates celebrates with teammates after taking the wicket of West Indies’ Zaida James. | Photo Credit: REUTERS

It was a tense evening in Sharjah on Friday. The heat from the second T20 World Cup semifinal between New Zealand and the West Indies, which had come down to 15 runs needed for the latter off the last over, made an already still air doubly uncomfortable.

The big hitters were back in the hut, but Afy Fletcher and Zaida James had shown plenty of intent in trying to chip the target down, calmly and bit by bit.

Sophie Devine was all set to give the ball to Lea Tahuhu, who had an over left for the final over of the chase. New Zealand’s stinginess with the ball, to not allow any free runs showed best in how its pacers operated. Tahuhu, who conceded just 10 runs in her first two overs, endured a six-hitting rampage by Deandra Dottin in the 16th. She was smoked for 23 runs as Dottin made a hard target accessible to the Windies’ lower order.

Devine considered giving Brooke Halliday the final over but saw Suzie Bates walk up to her asking for the ball.

Brave, right? That was to be Bates’ first over with the ball in this World Cup and the first time she bowled in a T20I since March this year when she, again, came to bowl in the final over with eight runs to defend against England in Nelson.

READ | New Zealand legend Suzie Bates hopes to break jinx on potential WC swansong

Zaida James jolted Bates a bit, smacking her for four off the first ball. Bates offered it up to her outside off, and James was happy to oblige. West Indies needed 11 runs off five balls. Bates went full and into the leg stump this time. James, who attempted to sweep, missed the ball and copped the ball on her body. Dot ball.

James eyed the unprotected offside field. A boundary would make life so much easier for the West Indies and herself in the middle. Bates didn’t change much. She angled it into the leg stump once more, going full this time. A swinging James missed, and the leg stump lit up as a result.

Tahuhu ran over to Bates, who was buzzing with energy. Hugs out of the way, three balls remained. Ashmini Munisar promptly ran a single to get Fletcher on strike after trying to go big down the ground but getting no distance. Bates stayed full to Fletcher, tempting her to try something. Fletcher wanted to manoeuvre the ball to the square leg region but didn’t get anything on it as the ball landed next to her.

10 runs needed off the last ball. Suddenly, smiles emerged from the New Zealand dugout, which, up until that point, looked like it was on ventilator support.

New Zealand’s Suzie Bates, once a pace-bowling allrounder (59 wickets in 170 games), settled for life largely as a pure batter after surgery on the right shoulder in 2020. | Photo Credit: AP

Bates went full between off and middle, with Fletcher having to muscle the ball to give it any shape or distance. She managed to get it to deep midwicket for just a single, bringing the curtains down on their campaign in the UAE.

“It was Brooke, she had her hat off, and I think Brooke was going to bowl. I looked at Suzie and said, ‘Suze, I think you should bowl,’” Amelia Kerr revealed after the game.

“Suze then said to Sophie, ‘Bowl me, I want to bowl it.’ That’s huge from, I guess your leader, your most capped player, to step up again in that moment. She’s done it before for us, she’s a bit of a last-over specialist and likes to call herself Michael Jordan, and I think that was a Michael Jordan moment,” she added.

There were tears everywhere. James, emerging from the West Indies dugout, couldn’t stop the tears from flowing. Windies skipper Hayley Matthews kept pulling her shirt to her face, trying to get through the handshakes without losing composure.

READ | Balancing a succession plan with a World Cup, the New Zealand way

Bates, who smiled the widest the tournament has seen her smiling so far, eventually broke down.

She had experienced New Zealand’s string of defeats and the hopelessness, which this side fought, arm in arm. She now oversaw one of the most famous wins in their history, exorcising the ghosts of the 2016 semifinal where West Indies pipped the Kiwis by six runs.

Bates, once a pace-bowling allrounder (59 wickets in 170 games), settled for life largely as a pure batter after surgery on the right shoulder in 2020.

“I love being an allrounder because I love being in the game,” she told Sportstar earlier.

“I was thought of as a nasty fastie and bowled medium pace. The game evolved and we had fast bowlers coming through. I hurt my shoulder so this was sort of a natural decision, to be a pure batter and put bowling to the back burner.

“I got bored in training and just wanted to roll out a few offies and then the coach showed some interest so I just kept bowling in the nets. I just want to stay involved and not sit around doing nothing,” she added.

Bates would not take being a spectator in this all-important semifinal too.

In her 333rd appearance for New Zealand in international cricket, she faced the first ball of the match with the bat, put her body on the line in the field and took charge of the last over of a fantastic team bowling effort to give her nation the right to dream of a maiden World T20 title.