Can Suzie Bates stop Australia's run in World T20?

Suzie Bates has a high average of 56.57 and a strike rate of 110.31 and that’s the reason why Australia fears and recognises its rival captain as a special cricketer who can steal the thunder from it.

Suzie Bates has scored 119 runs from two matches in Women's World T20.

The White Ferns’ Suzie Bates has shown remarkable appetite to plunder runs of the Australian bowling and this factor will come into play when the Tran-Tasman rivals, New Zealand and three-time champion Australia, will lock horns in a pulsating Group ‘A’ match of the ICC Women’s World T20 at the Vidarbha Cricket Association ground here on Monday.

The two wonderful sides, that has kept the women’s cricket flag flying, have had a brush with each other 31 times and the Australian team, known by the moniker Southern Cross, has gone down 16 times, mainly because of Suzie’s consistent display in nine matches in the last seven years.

Suzie’s 30 plus match-winning scores are — 33 and 54 — in the recent New Zealand wins against Australia in Wellington in February-March. She has a high average of 56.57 and a strike rate of 110.31 and that’s the reason why Australia fears and recognises its rival captain as a special cricketer who can steal the thunder from it. Suzie has played 80 T20Is and has featured in 45 wins — 15 against Australia.

After a long work out at VCA’s civil lines ground, Australian Megan Schutt said: “Suzie is in pretty good form at the moment. She always plays well against us. She steps up a bit more against us. But we have our plans individually.”

The White Ferns have arrived here after two clear cut wins against Sri Lanka and Ireland, but after a 12 hour air-travel from Mohali (Chandigarh) to Nagpur on Saturday. The Australian team has been in the city for four days and it beat South Africa by six wickets, thanks to a lovely cameo by Southern Stars captain Meg Lanning. She was absent at the training session in order to recover from a gastro-related illness.

Squads:

Australia: Meg Lanning (capt.), Alex Blackwell, Kristen Beams, Lauren Cheatle, Sarah Coyte, Rene Farrell, Holly Ferling, Nicola Carey, Alyssa Healy, Jess Jonassen, Beth Mooney, Erin Osborne, Ellyse Perry, Megan Schutt, Elyse Villani.

New Zealand: Suzie Bates (capt.), Sophie Devine, Erin Bermingham, Leigh Kasperek, Felicity Leydon-Davis, Sara McGlashan, Katey Martin, Thamsyn Newton, Morna Nielsen, Katie Perkins, Anna Peterson, Rachel Priest, Hannah Rowe, Amy Satterthwaite, Lea Tahuhu.