Bates, a true sporting all-rounder

An Olympian in basketball and an all-rounder in cricket, Suzie Bates paints an inspiring picture for youngsters aiming to make it big in sports.

Bates, captain of the New Zealand women’s cricket team in the five-match ODI series against India here, is indeed an all-rounder, having also dabbled a bit in football. But it is cricket that carved her a place in international sport, taking her close to the pinnacle.

"I played multiple sports at a very young age but I loved basketball and football the most. I made my debut for the White Ferns in 2006 in a five-match ODI series against India and we won it 4-1," she recollected.

Despite a dream start to her cricketing career, Bates' love for basketball never took a backseat. And the talented Kiwi soon found herself in the women's national team which represented the country in the 2008 Summer Olympics, in Bejing.

"Soon after my debut in cricket, I realised that New Zealand basketball team could make it to the Olympics. I dedicated 18 months to basketball and found a place in the Tall Ferns. It was a great experience at the Olympics. But New Zealand never made great progress in basketball and I decided to get back to playing cricket," she said.

Being a veteran, Bates is a bit disappointed at the current state of women's cricket in New Zealand and feels there is a great scope for improvement. "When I started off, it was Australia, England, New Zealand and India at the top four. Things have changed drastically. The standard of coaching at the domestic circuit in New Zealand is not up to the mark. The emerging girls are still not ready to take on the challenges posed at the international levels." 

 The gifted all-rounder's cricketing career has seen many ups and lows and Bates confessed her love for the game has motivated her to keep striving hard.

"The phase between 2009 and 2011 was the toughest,” she pointed out. This was the period when New Zealand made three finals of the major ICC events but couldn’t win any. “I was a part of three World Cup finals - the 2009 World Cup in Australia and the World T20 in England and the 2010 World T20 in the West Indies. New Zealand lost all three finals and I became sick of finishing second. I had a strong urge to quit as it was hard to digest the defeats.

"But cricket makes you keep coming back at it, and despite all the lows, I hung in there. I went on to make runs as the captain in the 2013 World Cup held in India and was adjudged the Women's ODI Cricketer of the Year.”

Speaking about the Black Caps, Bates finds Kane Williamson a great player to watch. “He has a calm approach and plays well in all three formats. Brendon McCullum is also a great leader and he gives a lot of inputs to our team members.”

The veteran, apart from her national commitments, spends time in coaching young girls in Otago. "I make sure I do my bit to promote the game. I coach the young players in Otago. The game has got a real boost with the upcoming Women's Big Bash League (in Australia) and matches being telecast is a great encouragement for us,” she reasoned.