Michael Jordan, Sachin Tendulkar made me stop and watch them: Suzie Bates

Suzie Bates is a force to reckon with in the women’s cricketing circuit. She has been the trademark touch for New Zealand ever since her debut. Her prowess with the bat could be assessed by the fact that she has more runs in T20I cricket than Virat Kohli. She has 4231 runs in T20Is and, 5673 runs in ODIs. However, while growing up, she was mesmerised by the Indian legend Sachin Tendulkar.

The 36-year-old has more feathers on her hat not just in cricket but in other sports too. She represented New Zealand in Basketball during the 2008 Olympics in Beijing. The multifaceted Bates has revealed that it was Tendulkar and Michael Jordan who made her fixated on the screen while growing up.

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“Two athletes that used to make me stop and watch them were Michael Jordan and Sachin Tendulkar. Whenever those two people were on, I just was fixated on the TV. I loved Tendulkar’s presence at the crease. I loved the amount of runs he scored. And he was the one batter that I remember just always wanting to watch,” said Bates as quoted by The Hindu.

As a cricketer, winning a world cup is the pinnacle: Bates

New Zealand’s search for ICC silverware is not restricted to men’s cricket, women had their fair share of hurdles too. When Bates featured in the team, the Kiwis challenged the ICC trophies three times. They reached three finals and failed to cross the line. The New Zealand all-rounder recounts not winning one of those three attempts as a regret in her cricketing life.

“As a cricketer, winning a World Cup, I think, is the pinnacle, but we did not. Early on in my career, we came second three times and, you know, that was a failure to me. But now that I look back on that, the fact that we played in three World Cup finals is an achievement in itself. Playing at Lord’s in that 2020 World Cup final, although the game went terribly for us, was a real highlight,” Bates continued.

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“It sounds, I guess, a bit strange, but just to be a part of the White Ferns in a fully professional era from where we came from has been a real highlight for me to be a part of that and just watch the game grow in New Zealand. It makes me really proud that I have been through both eras and yeah, we haven’t won a World Cup. And that is what I have always been driven to do. So those World Cups early on were disappointing. But if I can do that before I retire, I will be one happy cricketer,” the White Ferns cricketer added.