No replacing Sophie Devine, every opposition fears the way she plays: Suzie Bates

India Today

Suzie Bates has said that no one can replace Sophie Devine in the New Zealand team and claimed that every team fears the all-rounder for the way she plays the game. Devine is set to retire from ODIs after the completion of the World Cup.

Transcript

00:00Flora has been ruled out. Hannah Rowe has been included, but she is not a like-for-life replacement.

00:10Did team management make a request for her?

00:14Yeah, it's a difficult one. Obviously, Flora having to go home is really unfortunate.

00:20I wasn't privy to all the discussions, but I think when you're at a World Cup,

00:26being able to bring in someone with the experience that Hannah Rowe has.

00:30I think she's had 60-odd one-day internationals.

00:33I think being in these hot conditions in such a long tournament,

00:37the benefit of bringing in someone like Hannah is she covers both bat and ball being an all-rounder.

00:43Unfortunately, we haven't been able to replace exactly what Flora brings,

00:48but I'm pretty confident with knowing what Hannah Rowe will bring to the squad.

00:56and the team is really good to think about the match.

00:59We are looking for degrees that we have.

01:03Hi, so you've been indoor for a few days already.

01:07You've obviously played a match here.

01:09Does that stability and familiarity, obviously it's going to be a different pitch tomorrow.

01:14Will that, do you think that will help you going into the match tomorrow?

01:17Yeah, I think it's a huge advantage.

01:19huge advantage it's not only playing in the same conditions but not having to travel travel after

01:25that game we've had a few days off and being able to train again and that's going to be different

01:30for us throughout the tournament but for this little period I think it is it is an advantage

01:34obviously South Africa are going to be hurting after their first game so I know how South

01:40Africans are and I'm sure they're going to bounce back but yeah we know how this wicket generally

01:44plays and the outfield and the angles of the ground so it does put us in a slight advantage

01:50but it's all about who adapts the best tomorrow as well because it is a different wicket and it

01:55can play differently and it looks like no rain around again so that is also an advantage that

02:00we get to play more cricket.

02:07What is your chance to be in the 2-1 this morning?

02:10I think very high yeah

02:13yeah we did and they're one of the best teams in the world at the moment and I thought the way we

02:33fought with the bull even though Ash Gardner came out and got a hundred and then we were two for

02:39none and then the way we stayed in that game with Sophie Devine's outstanding in ends I think

02:44yeah we were just really proud of how we fought and we weren't able to get across the line but I

02:49think all our batters in the warm-up games in this build-up have been able to contribute and we feel

02:54like our batting goes really deep we've just got to put it all out there when it matters and our

02:59bowlers are doing a good job so look our chances are high if we play our best game tomorrow but we also

03:04know South Africa are an extremely good side and they have been successful at World Cups as well.

03:10You are going to play your 350th international match tomorrow, how you are going to make it a memorable one?

03:17Yeah that's always I think the goal on milestone games, Sophie Devine also in her 300th match so to think

03:26together we have played 650 internationals for the White Ferns is it's kind of unbelievable and yeah we'll

03:33want to make sure that we finish that game on on a good note so we can celebrate but we've kind of

03:37got to push those milestones to the side and and just be present tomorrow we'll recognize that it's a

03:43special day but our focus is on making sure we win that game and play well did you and the team get

03:49to watch South Africa's collapse against England what are your team thoughts on that and did that

03:56give you an idea of how to approach tomorrow's game? Yes and no unfortunately we didn't get to see a

04:02lot of their batting to scout but I'm sure we didn't watch it as a team but I'm sure the girls throughout

04:08this tournament are going to have their eyes on games it's it's a big tournament and we're cricket

04:13fans so we love watching and yeah they're going to be disappointed like I said but I don't think

04:17we can take too much from that game completely different conditions and they batted first and

04:23obviously didn't perform the way they wanted but like I said what I know of South Africans is that

04:28they'll try and bounce back and we're just going to be making sure that we start really strongly with

04:33the ball and put them under pressure again was that about the yeah yeah I think look we've got

04:45to turn up each day and make the decision that's right you know under lights the ball can swing around

04:51which is an advantage but the ball also skids on and doesn't spin as much so I do think there's

04:57advantages to both betting and bowling first if the sun's out it looks like a pretty flat wicket

05:03so as a basher you have a look at that and you maybe lick your lips but as a bowler as well you

05:08know you you know that it's hard to defend the ground when the outfield is so small so yeah I

05:13think Sophie and Ben will have a good discussion around that and it just depends on how tomorrow

05:18it looks and we take into consideration all those parts and make a decision what areas would you like

05:25to improve after the first game yeah I thought um you know our power play bowling it didn't perhaps start

05:32as well as we would have liked after Australia came out really aggressive um but then I thought

05:37the way we pulled it back through the middle was brilliant and and just being able to make sure

05:41that when we do get teams five six down that we're really going for the kill and I think in these

05:46tournaments you want to bowl teams out that's the goal so it's not going searching too much but keeping

05:51that pressure on and and then with the bat it was probably the power play of both innings so our power

05:56play off the ball and then our power play with the bat put us on the back foot and against a world-class team

06:02it's really hard to come back so if we can improve both bat and ball power plays I think we'll be in

06:06a really good position um a word on uh Sophie Devine she is retiring at the end of this but then

06:14going by the last match she looks like she's a lot in her tank almost 20 years for New Zealand

06:19cricket a lot of memories how big of a loss will that be when she eventually steps away I know she's

06:23going to be available for t20 but in the larger picture yeah it's you're not ever going to be able to

06:31replace a Sophie Devine I think she's changed the game through her power with the bat I know every

06:37opposition fears the way she plays the game and we haven't had many players like that from New Zealand

06:43who can take the game away from an opposition um and then with the bull you know everyone talks about

06:49her batting but the way she competes with the bull and the fact that she's captain yeah it's just going

06:54to be impossible to replace her and I'm really glad that it's just 50 over cricket that she's talked

07:00about stepping away from and it probably feels right with the world cup being four years away

07:04but there's plenty of 20 over cricket for her to contribute and yeah there's there's going to be

07:09no other Sophie Devine that New Zealand cricket produce and I think world cricket is going to be

07:13hard to find an all-rounder as explosive as her yeah there's probably a little bit of embarrassment

07:30from both of us we just feel like when we celebrate these milestones it's just because we're getting old

07:35but yeah it's one of those things that maybe in the moment you probably take for granted it and it's a

07:41world cup game and it's another game of cricket that we want to contribute to and we don't want

07:46to get too carried away with that milestone but I know after the game Sophie and I will sit and sort

07:51of reminisce on how far we've come not only as players together throughout this career but as a team

08:00I just think there's been so much growth in New Zealand women's cricket and those younger players

08:04coming through so yeah we'll be really proud but in the morning I think we'll just be trying to get

08:09on with the cricket and it's something 10 years time when we're both not playing we might have a cup

08:14of coffee and think how cool it was to do it in indoor in India yeah it's um it's just so exciting to

08:36see I think in world cups gone past had we been two for none to start a game um potentially that

08:43would have capitulated and just to know the depth we have now we've got Izzy Gaze coming in at seven

08:49who just scored a hundred in a warm-up match Brooke Halliday Maddie Green in our middle order who are

08:54contributing heaps with runs obviously Meli Kerr the superstar who consistently turns up and we're just

09:01starting to build a really strong squad and I think as a senior player and knowing if you go out

09:07there and contribute your role that the team can be successful but if you don't you also know how

09:11many other players that are going to step up and it can't be everyone's day every day so we just lean

09:17on each other and I really feel like we have that depth and potential to beat anyone regardless of how

09:23the top four or five batters are going

09:27Pardon?

09:28Anything at this for the moment?

09:29Uh I unfortunately haven't had those chats um that's why I don't captain anymore I don't have to

09:34make the tough decisions but um yeah I thought we played really well so it's going to be difficult

09:40to make too many changes and Rosemary Mere's getting close to full fitness so whether she's available

09:45or not I'm not quite sure yet but yeah I can't see yeah any massive changes to our group but I also

09:52don't know sorry all right uh one final question from me you've spoken about putting milestone aside

09:58but you're about 100 runs a little more than 100 runs away from just becoming the second batter to

10:03score 6,000 runs in ODIs so when you look back on your career I know you said it makes you feel old

10:08but what else does it make you feel when you look at this yeah it's a really difficult one because

10:15those runs have been over such a long period and at the moment my job at the top of the border is I want

10:21to score runs to win that game of cricket or help my team get close to winning a game so if I reach

10:27that milestone and we win the game then that's great but it is I think something that when I look

10:33back finally when I stop and take a moment to I guess really look back on my career like I'll be

10:41really proud but right now is if my runs aren't contributing to us winning then it's difficult to

10:47kind of celebrate but yeah I will look back on that I promise once I've finally walked away and can

10:53yeah look back fondly on all those memories but one game at a time and yeah the other night it wasn't

10:58good enough I didn't contribute the way I'd like so tomorrow it's about fixing that thanks guys

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