The best of Suzie Bates in international cricket

There are players who perform, and then there are players who rise. Suzie Bates has always belonged firmly in the latter category.

A big-match player in every sense, Bates has repeatedly saved her best for the grand stage. World Cups, in particular, have often felt like her natural habitat and a stage where pressure sharpens her instinct rather than weighs her down.

Back in the 2009 ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup, she announced herself in unforgettable fashion, smashing 168 – at the time the third-highest ODI score in women’s cricket. Four years later, in 2013, she elevated that reputation further, piling up 407 runs to claim the Player of the Tournament award, a performance that also earned her the Women’s ODI Cricketer of the Year honour.

Leadership came calling soon after. Taking over the captaincy in 2011, Bates not only steadied New Zealand but seemed to unlock another level in her own game. The added responsibility refined her.

And if cricket wasn’t enough, there was basketball too. A double international, Bates represented New Zealand at the 2008 Beijing Olympics before eventually stepping away from the sport in 2011 to fully commit to cricket and captaincy.

As she now approaches the final chapter of her international career, here’s a look at some of her most memorable knocks.

In the Super Six stage of the 2009 Cricket World Cup, Bates produced a career-defining innings of a blistering 168 off just 105 balls.

Coming into the match with an underwhelming average of 23.71 that international season, she flipped the narrative in emphatic fashion. What followed was a masterclass in controlled aggression.

At the time, it was the third-highest individual score by a New Zealand batter in women's ODIs and set multiple benchmarks: the highest ODI total away from home (a record that stood for nine years) and a 262-run second-wicket partnership – then the highest in women’s ODIs.

Just days earlier, Bates had shown grit with a hard-fought 47 against India. But this was something else entirely. This was freedom with sixes raining down, fours flowing effortlessly, and a young batter playing with unfiltered joy.

She struck 19 fours and six sixes at a strike rate of 160, mixing straight hits with even the occasional cover-driven six which was a rare flourish that captured the audacity of the innings.

At the peak of her powers during the 2013 Cricket World Cup, Bates once again stood tall. And this time against five-time champions Australia.

With New Zealand struggling at 39/4, she took control. Over more than three hours at the crease, she constructed a measured innings of 102 off 134 balls, relying on patience to help the team.

Her 12 boundaries, all fours, reflected the control she maintained against a strong Australian attack. Though supported by Katie Perkins and Nicola Browne, it wasn’t enough to secure victory.

Even so, the tournament belonged to Bates. She finished as the leading run-scorer with 407 runs at an average of 67.83, including a century and three fifties in a campaign that remains one of the finest in Women’s World Cup history.

Bates led from the front with an unbeaten 94, steering her side to a third successive win at the 2014 T20 World Cup with a 59-run victory over Pakistan.

Walking in with intent, Bates set the tone early and never really let it slip. Even as wickets fell around her, she held firm and then shifted gears, turning a steady start into something far more decisive.

From 36, she took complete control of the innings, striking her next 58 runs off just 32 balls.

Her 61-ball knock, laced with eight fours and two sixes, lifted New Zealand to a commanding 167/3, but more importantly, it was an innings that carried importance.

With semi-final qualification on the line, Bates delivered when it mattered most, earning the Player of the Match award for her assured and impactful performance.

By 2018, Bates was no longer just delivering standout innings, rather she was rewriting record books.

In a tri-series against South Africa and England, they played the Proteas in the opening game.

Bates powered New Zealand to a then record T20I total of 216/1 with a stunning unbeaten 124 off 66 balls.

From the outset, she dictated terms. A 34-ball fifty set the tone before she accelerated further, combining with Devine for a 182-run opening stand – then a women’s T20I record.

Even after Devine’s dismissal, Bates kept going, hitting 16 fours and three sixes and underlining the dominance of the innings.

During this knock, she also surpassed Charlotte Edwards to become the leading run-scorer in women’s T20Is, a record she continues to hold years later.

New Zealand’s 2022 World Cup campaign may not have gone as planned, but Bates delivered a reminder of her enduring class on home soil.

Her 126 not only marked her 12th ODI century but also saw her become the first New Zealand batter, and fourth overall, to cross 5,000 ODI runs.

It was a commanding innings built around her strength on the leg side, with sweeps, pulls, and flicks accounting for 90 of her runs. Scoring at a strike rate of 93.33, she stitched together crucial half-century partnerships with Melie Kerr and Brooke Halliday.

There were moments of fortune too, including a narrow DRS escape on 17, but Bates made it count. Starting fluently with a 54-ball fifty, she later adapted her tempo after quick wickets, anchoring the innings with maturity.

Her century came up with a pull behind square,a fitting shot for an innings built on control and authority. New Zealand went on to win by 71 runs, as they conveyed a heartfelt thanks to the Hagley Oval crowd.

In the 2023 T20 World Cup, Bates showed once again that experience matters, especially in pressure situations.

Her 56 off 49 balls laid the foundation for New Zealand’s total of 162/3, anchoring a crucial 110-run partnership with Kerr.

Having started cautiously in the powerplay, she gradually found her rhythm, striking boundaries with increasing assurance. A quirky moment, a sweep deflecting through her own legs for four, brought up her half-century from 44 balls.

This innings carried added weight. Coming off back-to-back ducks earlier in the tournament, Bates responded the only way she knows how.

Click here to read article