White Fern Suzie Bates has been restricted to batting in the nets. Photo: Chris Symes / www.photosport.nz
White Ferns v India
Women's Cricket World Cup
Starts: 10.30pm, Thursday, 23 October
DY Patil Stadium, Maharastra
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The White Ferns batters haven't been in the middle in more than 10 days, which is a long time during a global tournament.
Bowling first during back-to-back washouts at the Cricket World Cup in Sri Lanka, where only one innings was played in each game, means the New Zealand batters have been left in limbo since their 100-run win over Bangladesh on 10 October.
The White Ferns could be on the back foot heading into Thursday's must-win game against India in Mumbai, but to compensate for a lack of competitive batting opening batter Suzie Bates has been sneaking in extra net sessions ahead of the clash at a sold-out Dr. DY Patil Sports Academy stadium.
"It was quite hot yesterday and we were given a time in the nets and we were out in the middle of the ground, which is always handy when you haven't played at a stadium, but there was nets out the back, so I took the opportunity to have a bat in the middle in my allotted time and then snuck out the back where all the net bowlers were to have an extra hit," Bates said.
"For someone like me and Melie [Kerr] who just loved batting, it's trying to get as many game-like scenarios as you can, but there's nothing like match practice.
"The great thing is we had a massive build-up to this tournament and sometimes you've got to go with the motto that fresh is best and we all know what we're doing and our skills are there, so it's just making sure that we're mentally prepared for tomorrow night."
The White Ferns did a lot of preparation for the heat ahead of the tournament, but rain is something that has had a big impact for many teams during the tournament.
White Ferns captain Sophie Devine was critical of scheduling the world cup in a region that is known to get rain in the afternoons.
"You wait four years for a world cup, and to have rain play such a massive part in it is disappointing. I think, hopefully, in future editions, they might consider starting games earlier in the day," Devine said.
Bates also felt for the other teams, that like New Zealand, had had games end in no result.
"I think that's the biggest shame of not having the completed matches is from my experience of coming to world cups every team has their best team every match and puts their best foot forward," Bates said
"So the matches are so competitive and when they're world cup matches, there's so much more on the line and you feel that intensity. We don't get to play the likes of Pakistan and Sri Lanka that often, and world cup matches just are a different beast.
"I do feel like the game is growing so much, but obviously just the nature of the way it's worked out, it's been hard for some of those teams to put their best foot forward."
How a team waits out a rain delay at a ICC tournament has some similarities to a bi-lateral series but the pressure can be a bit different.
"I know in the other two games because we've bowled first I've been preparing for going out there for 20 overs as a batter and thinking that at 9:50pm I could be having to go out to bat, which makes it a long day," Bates said.
"So I try to save my energy and just sit in the corner quietly and wait to hear what's happening. But a lot of the younger girls like to play cards, like to have the music on and have a bit of fun.
"So it is different for everyone, but it's trying to switch off while also being prepared to go back out there at any moment. We are used to those situations, but at a world cup I think everything's just a little bit more heightened.
"You felt like you could go at any point in Colombo, and unfortunately we didn't get back on, but it looks like we're going to have a full match, a full 50 of a match [against India], which will be nice."
India are under pressure at a home world cup and are chasing the same spot in the semi-finals as the White Ferns but Bates said they had their own expectations to meet too.
"We are going to put pressure on ourselves because we want to make the next round.
"If we're honest as a group with the bat and the ball in this tournament, we haven't quite started as well as we'd like in the first 10 overs.
"If we can do that against India they're going to feel the heat early on.
"So whether it's with the bat or the ball, just taking it to them early so they feel under pressure. They're a really good batting side and from what I've heard this wicket is going to have a lot of pace and bounce and is going to be a batting friendly wicket, so the key is taking wickets, they've got a couple of big wickets that if we can keep taking wickets, we're going to put pressure on that middle to lower order."
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