{"id":158610,"date":"2026-04-23T18:41:34","date_gmt":"2026-04-24T00:11:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newslink360.space\/?p=158610"},"modified":"2026-04-23T18:41:34","modified_gmt":"2026-04-24T00:11:34","slug":"nz-great-suzie-bates-to-retire-after-2026-t20-world-cup","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newslink360.space\/?p=158610","title":{"rendered":"NZ great Suzie Bates to retire after 2026 T20 World Cup"},"content":{"rendered":"


\n<\/p>\n

New Zealand legend Suzie Bates will retire from international cricket at the conclusion of the 2026 Women\u2019s T20 World Cup in England, a statement from New Zealand Cricket announced on Thursday.<\/p>\n

The announcement will bring the curtain down on an incredible 20-year international career that has seen the 38-year-old rewrite national and world records, captain the national side on 151 occasions \u2013 all while being at the forefront of the evolution of women\u2019s cricket from amateur to professional.<\/p>\n

Bates will be named as part of the 15-player World Cup\u00a0squad at an announcement event at her former school, Otago Girls\u2019 High School next Wednesday and will depart with the squad for the ODI and T20I bilateral tour of England in early May.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I look back on the past twenty-plus years, I can\u2019t quite believe how quickly the time has gone,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m immensely proud to have worn the fern so many times, and I\u2019ve been filled with enormous purpose and joy in striving each day to be a better person, teammate, cricketer, and athlete for this team.<\/p>\n

ALSO READ | New Zealand\u2019s \u2018grandmas\u2019 finally bring home T20 crown<\/a><\/b><\/p>\n

\u201cWords can\u2019t truly express my gratitude to all my teammates and coaches along the way.<\/p>\n

\u201cI have one final mission: to head to the UK – a place that holds so many special memories for me – and win another World Cup.\u201d<\/p>\n

A right-handed opening batter from Dunedin, Bates made her domestic debut as a 15-year-old in 2003 and her international debut in 2006 .<\/p>\n

A talented sportswoman, Bates also represented New Zealand on the global stage in basketball, appearing for the Tall Ferns at the 2008 Beijing Olympics.<\/p>\n

The all-time leading run-scorer in Women\u2019s T20 Internationals (4717*) and fourth in Women\u2019s ODIs (5964*), Bates was also the first female cricketer to appear in 350 international matches and score 25,000 career runs (international and domestic).<\/p>\n

\"Suzie<\/p>\n
Suzie Bates has seen the tides change around the White Ferns since 2006, helping them reach the T20 World Cup final twice, in 2009 and 2010. She was part of the team that finally won the crown in 2024.
\n | Photo Credit:
\n Getty Images\n <\/p>\n

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Suzie Bates has seen the tides change around the White Ferns since 2006, helping them reach the T20 World Cup final twice, in 2009 and 2010. She was part of the team that finally won the crown in 2024.
\n | Photo Credit:
\n Getty Images\n <\/p>\n<\/div>\n

She was appointed captain in July 2011 and led the side for almost seven years, guiding New Zealand to multiple ICC tournament finals and cementing herself as one of the most respected leaders in the world game.<\/p>\n

Bates was named ICC Women\u2019s ODI Cricketer of the Year in 2013 and then swept both the ICC Women\u2019s ODI and T20I Cricketer of the Year awards in 2016.<\/p>\n

\u201cTo my day ones, my family, thank you for always being there. And to my partner, Scotty, and his boys: you\u2019ve shared in all the highs and the lows that this great game has brought into my life.<\/p>\n

\u201cI would also like to pay special tribute to the staff and coaches who have given so much to women\u2019s cricket over many years, often with little recognition or reward.<\/p>\n

\"New<\/p>\n
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New Zealand skipper Amelia Kerr said Bates, who she has idolised from a young\u00a0age, will be greatly missed.
\n | Photo Credit:
\n Getty Images\n <\/p>\n

\"lightbox-info\"\/<\/figcaption><\/div>\n

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New Zealand skipper Amelia Kerr said Bates, who she has idolised from a young\u00a0age, will be greatly missed.
\n | Photo Credit:
\n Getty Images\n <\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\u201cI\u2019m going to give every ounce of my energy to this final quest, dedicating every minute to helping this team play the kind of cricket we, and our country, can be proud of.\u201d<\/p>\n

New Zealand skipper Amelia Kerr said Bates, who she has idolised from a young\u00a0age, will be greatly missed.<\/p>\n

\u201cSuzie really is one of the greatest cricketers of all time,\u201d\u00a0Kerr said.<\/p>\n

\u201cGrowing up Suzie was my role model, and I was fortunate enough to make the team when she was captain.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you\u2019ve ever been\u00a0lucky enough to play alongside her you\u2019ll know that she\u2019s one of the most selfless cricketers in the world and one of the greatest teammates.<\/p>\n

\u201cHer record speaks for itself, she\u2019s paved the way for a long time in women\u2019s cricket, and what she\u2019s done for cricket, the women\u2019s game, and sport in New Zealand, she should be very proud of.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe\u2019ll be hugely missed in the WHITE FERNS wh\u0101nau, but I know she\u2019s still got a bit more left in the tank.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Suzie Bates career – At A Glance<\/b><\/p>\n

Captained the WHITE FERNS in 151 matches (79 ODIs, 72 T20Is)<\/p>\n

First woman to play 350 international matches<\/p>\n

First woman to score 25,000 career runs (international and domestic)<\/p>\n

The all-time leading run-scorer in women\u2019s T20Is (4717*)<\/p>\n

WHITE FERNS all-time leading run scorer in ODIs and fourth in women\u2019s One Day International cricket (5964*)<\/p>\n

145 international wickets (83 ODI, 62 T20I)<\/p>\n

The most catches in\u00a0women\u2019s ODIs (93) and T20Is (96)<\/p>\n

Player of the Tournament at the 2013 ICC Women\u2019s Cricket World Cup<\/p>\n

The first cricketer to win the ICC Women\u2019s ODI and T20I Cricketer of the Year Awards in the same year (2016)<\/p>\n

Commonwealth Games Bronze Medallist (2022)<\/p>\n

ICC Women\u2019s T20 World Cup winner (2024)<\/p>\n

\nFeatured in 14* ICC World Cups (9* T20I, 5 ODI)\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Published on Apr 23, 2026<\/p>\n<\/div>\n


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New Zealand legend Suzie Bates will retire from international cricket at the conclusion of the 2026 Women\u2019s T20 World Cup in England, a statement from New Zealand Cricket announced on Thursday. The announcement will bring the curtain down on an incredible 20-year international career that has seen the 38-year-old rewrite national and world records, captain…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":158611,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-158610","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sports"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/newslink360.space\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/GettyImages-2179774315.jpg","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pgnRh4-Fge","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/newslink360.space\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/158610","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/newslink360.space\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/newslink360.space\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newslink360.space\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newslink360.space\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=158610"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/newslink360.space\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/158610\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newslink360.space\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/158611"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/newslink360.space\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=158610"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newslink360.space\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=158610"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newslink360.space\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=158610"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}