Suzie Bates never thought this day would come.
The White Ferns batter nearly gave her cricket career away for basketball, first after finishing at Otago Girls’ High School and again after losing three Cricket World Cup finals.
But her "irrational thought" became a distant memory and she recently became just the second woman to play 300 internationals.
The Otago great’s home ground at University Oval will be transformed into the Suzie Bates Oval today when the White Ferns play their second T20 against Pakistan.
Bates, 36, expected the moment to sink in when she arrived at the ground today, and while it would be a special occasion, she would be happy to put her team-mates’ teasing behind her, she said.
"It’s got a nice ring, but getting a little bit of stick about the name from my team-mates, so once those jokes are over and done with, it’ll be nice," she joked.
"To be able to have this game at home and to celebrate it with my people is really special.
"I think that’s probably what’s going to make me emotional."
Dunedin had played a big part in her journey, she said.
"It’s just home. I’ve toured the world, I’ve been to lots of different places, I’ve met lots of different people through cricket but these are my people.
"These are who I’ve grown up with. They know what little Suzie was like when she was 15 with her pigtails and have been there through it all."
