Suzie Bates eyes World Cup win as New Zealand kick off preparation in Dubai heat
New Delhi: Veteran New Zealand batter Suzie Bates is banking on a pre-tournament camp in Dubai to help the White Ferns acclimatise to the hot and humid conditions expected at the upcoming ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup, which begins on September 30 in India and Sri Lanka.
New Zealand landed in Dubai earlier this week, where they will also play two unofficial warm-up games against England. For Bates and her teammates, the return to the city brought back fond memories of their maiden ICC Women’s T20 World Cup title last year.
“We have loved coming back here after almost 12 months,” Bates told ICC Digital. “Reminiscing on those last 12 months and that really special time for a lot of this group. There’s a few new faces here now, so we’ve joked about if we win this World Cup, maybe we’ll have to come back to Dubai and celebrate.”
For Bates, now 38, this tournament will mark her fifth World Cup appearance since making her debut at the 2009 edition in Australia. She joins an elite list of players to feature in five consecutive tournaments, alongside teammate Sophie Devine, Ellyse Perry (Australia), Marizanne Kapp (South Africa), and Harmanpreet Kaur (India).
“These events are the pinnacle for me,” Bates said. “I feel like each World Cup was a different phase of my career, coming on so naive to the first one in 2009 as an 18 or 19-year-old and not really knowing what to expect, to now the game having evolved so much and every team coming, believing they can win the tournament and putting together really competitive sides.
“The promotion of the game is now fully professional, but it was very amateur back in 2009. I’ve been captain, I’ve been not captain, and it has brought a different challenge. They all kind of merged together and you sort of look back and you can’t quite believe how quickly it’s gone. But this one is going to be one of the most competitive ones I think I’ve played at.”
Bates acknowledged that much would depend on her and Devine, but expressed excitement at the next generation of New Zealand players.
“Eden Carson was outstanding at the T20 World Cup and she’s such a young player still, Georgia Plimmer had a really great tournament and led from the front with the bat and we’ve got a really exciting prospect with left-armer Bree Illing,” she said.
“We haven’t had a left-arm seamer in the New Zealand side since Sian Ruck and that was a long time ago. So it’s going to be exciting to see her let the ball fly and swing the ball. And we’ve also got a very talented all-rounder in Flora Devonshire.
“Even though I’ve had five (World Cups), I’m just as excited for their first one and hopefully they just embrace it all and I can share a little bit of knowledge about World Cups with them.”
New Zealand squad: Sophie Devine (c), Suzie Bates, Eden Carson, Flora Devonshire, Izzy Gaze, Maddy Green, Brooke Halliday, Bree Illing, Polly Inglis, Bella James, Melie Kerr, Jess Kerr, Rosemary Mair, Georgia Plimmer, Lea Tahuhu.