New Zealand cricketer, Suzie Bates, who’s part of the national squad that’s currently in Antigua, Caribbean for an 8-match white-ball series against the West Indies for the first time in 8 years got in conversation with Alex Dunn for SEN Radio, where she’s expressed her disappointment towards lack of Test cricket in the women’s game.
When asked about the International Cricket Council’s (ICC’s) comment that “women’s Test cricket would not be a part of the landscape moving forward,” Suzie Bates said, “As a cricketer, you want to test yourself at the highest level and I feel Test match cricket can be the pinnacle.
“Although it hasn’t been in the women’s game, I just think it’s a real missed opportunity. Even in One-Day cricket, we talk so much about making sure we are playing with the spin of every single ball under our eyes, and in Test match cricket you learn to do that on a day five-wicket.
“I just think some of our younger batters and bowlers lose the art of being able to be patient with what they do with their skills. So I think there’s a massive opportunity, now the women’s game has grown, that we can bring it back but by the sounds of things New Zealand Cricket are investing in the shorter format.”
Suzie Bates expressed her disappointment towards the lack of Test cricket in the women’s game.#CricketTwitter pic.twitter.com/ZqDhjjI5EF
— Female Cricket (@imfemalecricket) September 28, 2022
Suzie Bates is one of New Zealand’s finest produced batters who in 139 One-Day innings has scored 5114 runs at an average of 40.25, at a strike rate of 80.87 and has got as many as 29 half-centuries and 12 centuries to her name with the highest score of 168. In 128 T20I innings, she’s gone on to score 3531 runs at an average of 29.92, a strike rate of 110.89 and has got 22 half-centuries and a century to her name in the format with the highest score of 124*.
Suzie Bates debuted for the side in 2006 and in her illustrious career hasn’t played a game of red-ball cricket as New Zealand last played the long format back in 2004 and with Australia, England, and India reviving Test Cricket in Women’s game, New Zealand are yet to climb on the boat that South Africa recently got on.
Suzie Bates feels no Test games on New Zealand’s schedule is a missed opportunity and on her chances of featuring in all-whites went on saying, “Unless I get invited to play somewhere else it looks unlikely. But I feel like there is a future in (it); I know Australia and England are about to play a five-day Test match in the Ashes which is awesome to see.”
The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) when revealed the schedule for cricket’s most action-packed series, the Ashes, that’s to be played in 2023 in the United Kingdom (UK) had all limelight on the fact that there’ll be a five-day Test match at Trent Bridge that’ll see two of the best teams in world cricket compete the urn that’s got a very rich history.
Suzie Bates has her set on a T20I series victory against the West Indies, after clinching the ODI series 2-1 in Antigua. The 5-game T20I series will get underway on the 28th of September and has its final game scheduled to be played on the 6th of October. Suzie Bates then will join the Sydney Sixers for the upcoming 8th edition of Women’s Big Bash League (WBBL) in Australia that’s set to run from the 13th of October to the 20th of November.
Quotes are sourced from sen.com.au
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