Suzie Bates & Sophie Devine's crowning moment

By Cameron McMillan

Suzie Bates and Sophie Devine have been through it all for the White Ferns. This year’s Twenty20 World Cup marked the ninth appearance at the tournament for both White Ferns veterans.

The previous eight they left empty-handed, including falling at the final hurdle in 2009 and 2010. 14 years was a long time to wait for redemption but the wait seemed worth it as they finally secured world champion status in Dubai this morning.

The last time New Zealand played in a final they got agonisingly close. Devine was at the crease when the White Ferns needed 15 off the final over to beat Australia in Bridgetown. She was tasked with needing a six off the final ball for victory but couldn’t produce the miracle ending. Since then Devine and Bates had to watch Australia win another five times while the White Ferns failed to reach a final until this year.

It was third time’s a charm as they defeated South Africa in style, capping off a 32-run victory and a stunning rise to tournament champions. The White Ferns came into the tournament having lost 10 straight matches and found form at the right time to win their first World Cup title since victory in the 50-over format in 2000.

As the celebrations began, the two veterans embraced in the middle – a special hug after so much heartbreak on the field.

Bates is the most capped player in women’s Twenty20s, Monday’s final was her 380th appearance for New Zealand in the shorter format. She’s been through more lows than highs as the White Ferns have often played third fiddle to the Aussies and England – the two sides who got the better of them 10 times in a row before the event.

Nearing the end of two great careers for their country, it seems fitting they finally can be called world champions.

“In shock really. This tournament, little things have gone our way and we’ve played with real pride. Whatever happened today I was so proud of the group and to think we’ve won the thing, it’s just unbelievable,” Bates told Sky Sport.

“This means everything to us,” she said of her time with Devine.

“We’ve played team sport for so long. When you play team sport you want to be a world champion and we’ve fought our way back to the top. We started with a few final opportunities but since then it’s been pretty rare. She’s [Devine] been so outstanding leading this team. So calm and believing in us ... there have been some dark times that only us in that group and in that shed have only been there for when we couldn’t get a win leading into this World Cup. We questioned ourselves as leaders but Ben [coach Ben Sawyer] kept backing us so it’s really special.”

Devine, the New Zealand skipper, said Bates led the way at the top of the innings which set the tone for the performance.

“It’s just outstanding. It speaks volumes of who Suze is as a player that she is now the most capped player in the history of the game in the woman’s side. It’s unbelievable to think that she can go out there and play with such aggression and such fearlessness. It set the tone for the rest of the batting line-up. To have her in the side, everyone knows how special I find Suze and what she has been able to achieve. So stoked for her that we are able to lift it for her,” Devine said.

“Once I get my hands around their trophy, it will [sink in]. I started to let myself dream a little bit last night about what it would be like to hold that trophy up in front of that team. I didn’t want to get too far ahead of myself. It’s hard to put into words what it means, not just to me but for this group of players, for some of the players within this group, obviously Suze and Lea [Tahuhu] and for New Zealand cricket as well.

“It has been a long time between drinks. The great thing about this is we have known what we have been trying to achieve for probably the last 12, 18, 24 months and results haven’t gone our way, but we know that we’ve been building in the right direction. We’ve played the two best teams in the world for, I think, 14 or 15 games in a row. It was a pretty steep learning curve but we knew that we kept taking steps in the right direction and absolutely, you want momentum and things like that, but I think we have just rewritten them a little bit. We coming off 10 losses in a row to come into a World Cup where we knew everyone starts back at zero and it’s anyone’s game and to be standing here now, it’s pretty special,” the skipper added.

Batting first, New Zealand made an impressive 158 for five. Bates (32 from 31) set the tone early before a crucial 57-run partnership in the middle overs between Amelia Kerr (43 from 38) and Brooke Halliday (38 from 28). Maddy Green added 12 off the final over to get New Zealand to a formidable total.

South Africa looked in the chase early with openers Laura Wolvaardt (33) and Tazmin Brits (17), the two top run-scorers in the tournament, putting on 51 for the first wicket.

But the New Zealand spinners took control in the middle overs. Kerr, Fran Jonas and Eden Carson all took top-order wickets to leave South Africa facing a daunting task at 96 for five needing 63 from the final 30 balls. Tight bowling and steady hands in the field from the White Ferns didn’t give them a look-in.

Kerr was brilliant in a player-of-the-match performance, finishing with 3-24 despite suffering through cramp following her 73-minute stay at the crease which helped set up the big total. She was also named player of the tournament.

Pace bowler Rosemary Mair took late wickets to finish with 3-25 as South Africa finished on 126 for nine.

The White Ferns finished second in Group A behind three-time defending champions Australia, who were knocked out in the semifinals by the South Africans. New Zealand booked their first final spot in 2010 with a tight eight-run win over the West Indies after having to beat Pakistan in their final group match to qualify for the knockout stage.

What’s astonishing is that New Zealand didn’t have to beat either Australia or England to win the title, but that’s World Cups. And that’s the beauty of knockout tournaments.

“Pretty unbelievable to be honest,” Mair told Sky Sport. “Coming into the tournament all the odds were against us so for the group to bounce back like the group have in this tournament is just unbelievable.

“We’ve been through a lot of lows in the last 18 months and we’ve just stuck by each other and just kept working hard for each other so it’s great.”

This article was first published on nzherald.co.nz and is republished here with permission