Suzie Bates: former White Fern on being awarded a New Zealand Order of Merit

Suzie Bates intends to distance herself from the White Ferns once she retires from the international game following the upcoming women's T20 Cricket World Cup in England.

Bates has been awarded a Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit for her services to cricket and basketball, following a two-decade career where she also played for the Tall Ferns at the 2008 Olympics.

The 38-year-old Bates has ruled out staying on with the White Ferns in a coaching or advisory role.

She says this award has taken her by surprise, but she's thrilled to be acknowledged. 

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:09):
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Speaker 2 (00:16):
Back to the King's Birthday Honors and former White Ferns
captain Susie Bates has we made an Officer of the
New Zealand Order of Merit for services to cricket and
basketball ceruse. He's a double rep New Zealand's leading women's
run scorer, also represented the Tall Ferns at the two
thousand and eight Basing Olympics, and the honor comes as
she prepares for one final T twenty World Cup before retirement.

(00:39):
And Susie Bates joins us from the UK. Right now,
good morning and good afternoon to you.

Speaker 3 (00:45):
Good morning, thanks for having me. I've got the Sisame
Street song in my head.

Speaker 2 (00:48):
Noway absolutely, Hey, So what does it mean to you
to be recognized like this?

Speaker 3 (00:56):
Oh? Yeah, it's really special and kind of yeah taking
me by surprise obviously I found out a little while ago,
but yeah, I guess when you're still in secure preparing
for a world cut you. Yeah, these things I think
once I finished, you'll really look back and reflect on.
But yeah, just special to be acknowledged and my teammates.
We just had a meeting before and they acknowledged it,

(01:18):
so that was lovely.

Speaker 2 (01:19):
Yes, it's for you, it's for your team. It's also
for women because you represent how women's sport has changed.
How do you feel that women's sport has changed over
your career.

Speaker 3 (01:30):
Yeah, it's unrecognizable when I started as as a young athlete,
whether it was basketball, cricket, but I remember not really
having an idea that i'd be a professional athlete because
in New Zealand, I guess I didn't have female role
models in the sports that I played that were currently professional.
So I played for fun and I wanted to play

(01:52):
for New Zealand, but it was never going to be
a long term thing because it wasn't a career opportunity.
And now I'm playing with players that, at the age
of eighteen can get full time contracts and be professional
athletes in cricket in particular. So yeah, it's been a
journey in terms of where it started and how much
it's grown. And to be able to, I guess experience

(02:14):
both sides of their amateur and professional game has been
really special. To try and grow alongside the game and
help promote it in New Zealand, but also just I
guess remember what it was like for the players before
us and that legacy when you know it was very
very amateur the players that played before I did and
had to, I guess give up cricket in their twenties

(02:35):
to get other jobs, whereas I'm very fortunate at thirty
eight to be able to still be playing.

Speaker 2 (02:41):
We're very fortunately you're still playing and saving us from
unfortunate situations as we found out in the England series.
But of course now you come to a one final
T twenty World Cup as is obviously your one song.
How's that tracking.

Speaker 3 (02:55):
Yeah, we've had a little bit of a break after
that England series before the World Cups. We've had a
couple of days away as a group and now we've
come back together tonight and we've got a training camp
in Bristol where we'll get together and work really hard,
and we've got a couple of warm up games before
the World Cup, so there's still a bit of time
to go before that first World Cup game. But the

(03:16):
team's track in really nicely. We've had some really good
performances against South Afrikrian England, who are really strong contenders,
so you just can't wait for it to finally get started,
but still a bit of training and practice matches to go.

Speaker 2 (03:28):
Well, you know that we're all behind you and the team,
so all the very best of luck. But of course
here you are getting an honor. Here you are at
the age of thirty eight. Here you are at the
end of your career rather than the start. And have
you started about thinking about what might come next?

Speaker 3 (03:44):
Yeah, you always do, and I think probably in the
last five years it's been crossing my mind about what
it looks like after cricket, But then I've just kept
playing because I love it so much. But yeah, I
know I'm going to be involved in sports then, my
absolute passion since I was young, and I've been so
lucky to be involved in different sports, but in particular
Bust Whene's on so been able to give back two

(04:07):
young athletes I have the chance to have careers. Yeah,
I know that's where I'll be And you know, i
might step away from cricket for a little bit because
it's been twenty years of my life, but I know
I'm always going to have contacts around the world in
terms of getting back into the game. So yeah, just
excited to do something different. It's been such an incredible journey,

(04:28):
but yeah, good things have to come to an end
and I'm ready for that, but just excited to have
this last exciting World Cup to be a part of
in the UK.

Speaker 2 (04:36):
SUSI all the very best of Lucke. Thank you for
everything that you've done for the sport and for women,
and enjoy your summer.

Speaker 1 (04:43):
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