She sits on the number three spot for most runs in Women ODI matches with 5,673 runs and is at the top of the table in Women T20I matches with 4,231 runs. Suzie Bates, an all-rounder from Otago, New Zealand, who has also captained the White Ferns for seven years, has had an illustrious career spanning almost two decades, which features a Player of the Tournament award in the 2013 World Cup and the ICC Women’s ODI Cricketer of the Year and ICC Women’s T20I Cricketer of the Year awards. t2 had the opportunity to chat with Suzie about her life mantra and more.
You have had an incredible career! What do you tell yourself when you wake up every day?
It’s different on different days. Some days I am like, ‘Wow, you are so sore. How long can you keep doing this?’ Other days, I wake up and think I am just so lucky to still be able to do what I love. So, there’s ups and downs, but I think every day I am grateful that I get paid to do a job that I love and I used to do for free. Nothing’s changed for me, but the world of cricket has changed and now I have had a job, I guess for the last 10 years or so.
After close to 20 years of international cricket, what is your motivational mantra?
I think nothing’s changed in those years. It’s literally been to be the best player and teammate that I can be and I have always been driven about trying to get better, trying to evolve, always in the back of my mind leading into World Cups, just to win a World Cup for the White Ferns (New Zealand women’s national cricket team)... those things have been there since I first played in the World Cup in 2009... to be the best player I can be and win World Cups for my country and that is still the case and is what keeps me going.
How do you keep fit?
It probably has changed since I first hit my 30s. I have had to get smarter with my training and I do love to train a lot. I know to play at this level, I’ll have to be fit and my body has to be able to handle international cricket. Now, I guess, since I have gotten older, I cannot be on my feet all the time. So, I do a lot of biking….
In batting, for me, it’s all about making sure that you have a plan of what you are working on and mentally staying fresh. I like to have volume but also make sure that I am getting better when I am doing that. I have probably simplified it in the last five or six years and alongside making sure that I have recovery days, especially when you play for nearly 10 months of the year.
Do you still play basketball (Bates has travelled to the 2008 Beijing Olympics as part of the New Zealand basketball team)?
I wish I still played basketball. No, more from the fear of getting injured on the ankle, but what might be the first thing I’d do when I stop playing international cricket is join a club basketball team wherever I am in the world.
How has your Olympics experience helped you excel in cricket?
It was a long time ago, but for me it was about being around world-class athletes and being inspired by other athletes, seeing what the opportunities were out there and whatever sport it was, I wanted to be the best athlete I could be and it happened to be cricket. I guess I learnt about those big events and managing your nerves and preparing for an event for almost two years and what that takes to make sure that you stick on that core and I think I transferred that into preparing for cricket.
You have seen the whole revolution in women’s cricket. Does it make your journey more special?
Yeah, I was saying earlier that to have the opportunity to play for my country, but go from a completely amateur athlete to a full-time professional athlete and never having that exploration because it wasn’t a possibility when I started. Now to be in that position and watching young girls come into the White Ferns when they are 18 who are full-time cricketers, I feel, I guess, really privileged that I have experienced both worlds because there are advantages and disadvantages of both and it’s just luck really that the time I was born that I have been able to stay in the game….
Who are your icons across sports?
Because of when I grew up and not having lots of female role models on the TV or in your face, I watched Michael Jordan and Sachin Tendulkar in particular a lot and when I got a little bit older, I was really fortunate to have good female role models…. Ali Shanks, a basketball and netball player who went to the Olympics with cycling. What I learnt about female athletes was how hard they’d had to work to be able to get a profile and I have always admired the athletes before me… who inspired me to work harder at what I chose to do.
Who is your all-time favourite all-rounder?
It’s hard for me to say this, but Ellyse Perry has probably been my favourite athlete to compete against. Not only because she was an exceptional athlete in another sport (soccer), but just how competent she is with bat and ball and I have played so much cricket against her… so, she’ll be my favourite all-rounder.
What is your mantra for the longevity of your career?
I think it’s a little bit around resilience, never giving up on my dream and never quitting... I know I still have the drive to be the best athlete that I can be and I am still motivated to contribute to this team and still have a lot to give. Sometimes it gets hard and you doubt yourself, but until I lose that joy, it’s just to never give up and never crib because you can always get better and once you do stop, I know I am going to miss it.
What else needs to be done to boost women’s cricket?
A big question, but I think just professionalising the game and having contracted players and having professional, domestic players within the country... if you look at Australia, England and India, not only are their international players professional but their domestic players can become full-time cricketers. That’s the next step for everyone around the world… South Africa, New Zealand, West Indies, Sri Lanka… just have domestic players as full-time cricketers to build depths in your own countries.
Sony Sports Network has acquired the exclusive broadcast rights of New Zealand Cricket for seven years