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Suzie Bates, welcome to my podcast. >> There's days [music] and there's periods where you're batting
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and you feel like you have so much control of where you're heading the ball. You have so much time [music] and
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then there's times where you feel like you don't know where your next run's coming from and I don't reckon there'll
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be one better in the world that's never felt that. I just [music] remember waking up and I had pins and needles in
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my feet. I went to run and I just burst into tears cuz I was like, "Where have my legs
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gone?" [music] >> Bleaching a thing in the in the women's game or or not so much?
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>> I feel like it's really toned down [music] since there's all these overseas competitions. You never know who you're
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going to end up in a team with. >> batting poorly or something [music] happens does Brendon McCullum text you
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and say, "Hey, I've been watching you." >> did though. >> Oh, really? >> Every time I see packed out stadiums
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[music] for female sport, it just like makes me so happy. I feel like there's so much I
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have [music] to give to the game. I don't feel like I've sacrificed life to do it. [music] So, I've chosen to take
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this path and I wouldn't have done it any other way. >> Good to hear. Come on. This is the
00:01:02
center of performance. Whenever there's a top performer in New Zealand, it all comes from here. That's Lisa Carrington.
00:01:08
She's been doing that for days. That's the boy who's got the hole in one in Tokoroa.
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Oh, he did it again. Hey Finn, how's the performance going? >> Top tier. >> Nice. This is our Generate room. In
00:01:19
here, you'll find our top performers helping Kiwis maximize their KiwiSaver investments. [music]
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Get in here, Finn. Maximize. Generate. Putting performance first. >> Suzie Bates, welcome to my podcast.
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>> Thanks for having me. >> Um we eventually I I first of all I can't believe this. You're from Dunedin,
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I'm from Palmerston North. We're in a studio in Notting Hill. Um it's a bit of a yeah, pinch me moment
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for me and and I'm super excited that you're here. >> Yeah, um it took me a while to get here.
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>> [laughter] >> Um and I have been coming north a few times, but yeah, Dunedin, I'd never
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caught public transport in Dunedin except when you go to school trips on the bus, but yeah, I really mucked up
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the tubes today, but thank you for having me, and yeah, it's really cool. >> Yeah, now cuz I went for a big run this
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morning, I was thinking, "How how am I going to intro this podcast? How are we going to do it?" And I thought I could,
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you know, reel off some of your phenomenal statis- statistics of your various careers with cricket and
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basketball, and then you you [ __ ] up your arrival, and you're over half an hour late,
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>> [laughter] >> um which is the most amazing it was actually amazing. I thought, "This is a
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great way to intro it." Because from an outsider's perspective, your life looks perfect, and then this
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happens, and it proves that you are just human. What would your teammates say? Is this
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If they heard about this, would they be like, "Oh, that's classic Suzie." Or is this like, "Oh, that's out of character
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for Suzie." >> No, I think they would say that's classic Suzie. >> [laughter] >> If they knew as well that it was sunny
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outside, so the decisions were based around getting some outdoor transport, so they'd totally understand that, cuz
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I'm always out in the sun. So, no, it is a little bit classic trying to also squeeze a lot into the day, and too
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much. When you're in Dunedin, everything's only 5 minutes away, so you're only ever 5 minutes late, whereas
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in London >> Yeah, half an hour late in London's perfectly reasonable. Like, it takes so
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long to get anywhere. Like, the friends I'm staying with, every evening they're like, "Oh, we
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should go and see Craig David tonight." for example, and I'm like, "Okay, how far away is that?" And everything's an
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hour. Takes an hour to get anywhere. >> Yeah, and you think yeah, you know, you can go on the tube, but then there's
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still a lot of walking, so you do get your steps up um even once you figure out the tube, but yeah, it's been really
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nice to be in London. It's a great spot, and at least the sun is out. >> Yeah, and so what are you doing here?
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You're here for a What's the tournament? The T100? No? >> Yeah, it's called The Hundred, so um
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it's just a format that I think they've made for TV, so it's shorter, and it's 100 balls instead of 20/20, which is 120
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balls. And they've got eight teams all spread out. There's men's and women's. You play
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double headers every game, so I'm with the Invincibles, who are London-based, and they get three overseas, and they go
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into a draft each year, and you get picked and get sent to whatever team. So, Sophie Devine is at Birmingham
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Phoenix, and Amelia Kerr is at London Spirit, and there's a couple of the New Zealand
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boys, Finn Allen and Devon Conway, at Southern Brave. So, there's plenty of Kiwis in the competition, but yeah,
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that's what we're here for, and it's a pretty cool competition. We play sold-out crowds at the Oval. Um the
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atmosphere's awesome. We're not doing as well as we'd like this season, but that's all part of it.
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>> And even though you're on different teams, do you catch up with your your Kiwi mates?
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>> Yeah, um it's handy having Amelia in the other London team. So, her and her boyfriend, Nathan, are over here, and
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we've done a bit together. We played Sophie in Birmingham, and our white friends coach, Ben Sawyer, is also
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there, so we had a catch-up after the game, but there is a bit of travel, and it's hard to meet up
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>> [laughter] >> with people, as you've seen. So, not too much, but it helps that Amelia is in
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London. >> Yeah. Yeah, are you you guys quite tight? >> Amelia and I? Uh yeah, we spend a lot of
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time together. I think we've just bonded over um cricket and wanting to be the best we
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can be, and she's very talented, and we obviously tour a lot as a team. So, the three of us, Sophie, Amelia, and I, know
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each other pretty well. So, it is nice when you have those familiar faces when you're an overseas player.
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>> Yeah, cuz I I heard the story about um Amelia Kerr and yourself, and I don't know if it's like a like just a a
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punchline or a gag or a serious thing, but she, when you retire, she wants you to be her like traveling personal coach.
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>> [laughter] >> Is that like is that a is that a real sort of thing, or is that sort of a
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stick? >> Um I think she would love that. Uh we've talked about We have talked about,
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you know how tennis players, they kind of have their personal coaches, and with all this franchise cricket, Amelia's
00:05:36
traveling the world playing in different teams. So, she wants to take a coach that'll just sling at her for hours, cuz
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she loves batting. So, we've joked, now that she's earning millions of dollars, that I could be that person and just be
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her own personal batting coach. So, when training's done, if she wants extras, I'm just there to bowl and throw. So,
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it's a bit of a joke, but I'm sure she'd love it. >> Yeah, is she Is it an exaggeration or is
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she earning millions of dollars? >> Uh millions is probably an exaggeration, but the IPL women's IPL um first time
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this year they had this auction, which was just absolutely fascinating to watch unfold.
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Smriti Mandhana, the best Indian player, went for something ridiculous. Like, she
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went for 1.something million, the most highest paid female cricketer. And then Marley, I think something over 100k for
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her um position at Mumbai Indians. So, she's got another 10 to 15 years if she wants
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to keep playing um all around the world. Yeah, it's pretty unbelievable considering when I
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started, I think we got paid $30 a day. >> Hello, who DMs you? >> [laughter] >> And that was meant to You got $70 if you
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didn't live at home. Because that was to cover mortgage I was living at home at the time still, so I got $30.
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>> It's um yeah, like a It must be It must be nice for you that uh in your career, which by the way has
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like spanned over half your [ __ ] life. It's been insane. Insane. It's nice that you've seen that over $30 a
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day to where you are now. And that you do get to capitalize on it and make a little bit of money before uh before
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your career ends. >> Yeah, and I said I was I feel like it's been quite a privilege to have the best
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of both worlds because I sort of look at these young players now and at 16, 17, they're contracted and cricket becomes
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their life, whereas probably up until I was 26, 27, 28, it was still part-time. I could play basketball. I could study.
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Um I sort of felt like I had I guess more freedom to figure out what I wanted to do and then cricket became my
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profession. Um so, I see the benefits of that. I could have been burnt out by now
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if it was the way it is. And obviously there's players also just before me that missed out just on the
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professional and phase of the game. So, yeah, it's like the timing and no, it's no one's fault, but I just feel pretty
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grateful that I've been part of both sides for different reasons and yeah, so the fine line because there is
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now financial reward, but not hanging in there too long and for the wrong reasons. You want to be making
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sure you I'm still doing it for the love, but sometimes the money talks, doesn't it?
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>> [laughter] >> Oh, 100%. And do you do you find sometimes with the the younger players
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you you go into like boomer mode and you say you know you guys don't know how lucky you got it back in my day $30 a
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day >> I catch myself all the time [laughter] like, but I hold my tongue. They they
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yeah, it is just so different that they don't know any different. So, it's not really their fault, but um you almost
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want to come Sometimes I feel like I want to give them a clip around the ear just so they've got some perspective,
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but that's not helpful and I'm sure there are older players when I was playing that wanted to give me a clip
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around the ear, too. >> And is is is it the money good for you? So, say you've got like another couple
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of years of your your career left. Are you are you going to be able to you like I don't know buy a house in Dunedin at
00:08:56
the end of it or you you know cuz you've devoted so much of your life to the sport. Um so, in those early years in
00:09:02
particular like you definitely undoubtedly did it just for the love of the game. Um and you've made a lot of
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sacrifices. So, it'd be it'd be good if you can get to the the end of your career and you know you've got some
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financial reward from it. Is it going to be okay? >> Yeah, no, it's um it's kind of
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unbelievable where it's at and it's all public knowledge as well with these drafts they have now. I hate them, but
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that's where the game's going. You put your name in and you get offered a band of money. So, this Oval Invincibles that
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was I think I went for 32 and a half thousand pound for a month's work. So, >> Oh, that's 70 grand.
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>> Yeah, so that's and that's only happened in the last 2 years that money's been
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that way. Um the Big Bash you can earn anything between I think it's 30,000 and 110,000
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for 6 weeks. Um the IPL if you get your name in it's the same what the minimum is
00:09:55
30,000 US but it goes up to ridiculous amounts but I wasn't picked up last season and then and he's on cricket
00:10:01
contracts um the retainers and if you play every game it's very financially rewarding so all of that put together
00:10:09
over a 12-month um span I think the hard thing is now I think oh what job could I
00:10:14
earn that money >> [laughter] >> Um it's doing something that I love so much as well you know it's my passion
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and it's just nothing's changed for me but everything's changed. I'm doing exactly the same thing. I'm sort of
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training the same way obviously we're away a lot more but then all of a sudden you get like the same job you were doing
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now is earning 10 times as much. It's a weird concept. >> Oh it's so cool though.
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>> It is very cool very cool. >> It's amazing. It's okay there's so much ground to cover
00:10:41
with you like you've mentioned the IPL a couple of times you should have been selected but you missed out.
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>> Yeah. I put my name in and hoped for selection and I felt like I'd had a pretty good 12
00:10:52
months but it is a very I guess fickle environment and often it's just depending on the
00:11:00
balance of the team and spots and it felt like the first auction the Indian teams were looking for fast bowlers and
00:11:08
all-rounders and that was sort of where people put their money in lots of world-class
00:11:13
openers like Danni Wyatt Laura Wolvaardt from South Africa also missed out so I think no one really knows how it's
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going to go and you you hope that you're going to get picked up especially when it was the first one but when you see
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how it unfolded you sort of understand. >> But you you were you were disappointed
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or were you sort of okay about it? >> Uh oh, the timing of it. >> where like can you remember how you
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felt? >> Yeah, no, I can because the timing of it was dreadful. Um we were playing Was it
00:11:41
our second world It was the second World Cup game. It was the morning of the game
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against South Africa and there was obviously players in our team that had put their name in.
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And then I thought the auction was just going to happen in the morning, but then
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it just dragged on because they went through rounds and rounds and so then I decided not to really follow it cuz we
00:12:01
had a game, but then I could just sense on the bus that everyone knew that they were watching and that I hadn't been
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picked up. So, we had that game and at the time I was like just not going to worry about it, but I think it probably
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just I don't know, it just knocks your confidence a bit where like you feel maybe that you've done enough to be
00:12:21
picked up and then when you're not, I guess it does Yeah, it hurts a little bit, but I think after the World Cup and
00:12:27
having a break, I sort of saw it for what it was, but at the time I was yeah, a bit gutted. And I knew
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people involved in the auction, so you you'd hope they picked you up, but they didn't, so that was fine.
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>> Yeah, like why are you like are you like embarrassed or just like sad? >> I feel like Well, for me it's more No,
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it's not embarrassed, just gutted. I was just like um I'd done so much in the women's game
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and that was kind of one thing and it was the first time and I just desperately wanted to be a part of it
00:12:59
and see what it was like and yeah, I've been really fortunate that I've been part of pretty much everything when it
00:13:06
started, so it was just maybe for very selfish reasons. I just wanted to get amongst it and see what the women's IPL
00:13:14
was going to be like, but there's a chance every year if I want to put my name in and it'll happen and it's only
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going to get bigger and bigger. >> Yeah, and I suppose that's just um like the career path you've chosen,
00:13:24
isn't it? There's like extreme highs, but also these like deep lows as well. >> Yeah, and betting and cricket, if you've
00:13:31
ever been a better, you understand and like you just have to stay so consistent with
00:13:37
how you prepare cuz it it's very outcome-based, um especially as a better. And at the
00:13:44
moment, I haven't scored the runs I would have liked as an overseas player, and that's even harder cuz you're sort
00:13:49
of bought in you're kind of a commodity to go out there and perform for the team, and when it doesn't go your way,
00:13:57
it becomes, I think, even harder in these franchise environments to deal with it because you feel like you're
00:14:01
almost not proving your worth or they've put an investment in you. Whereas, I think for New Zealand over a long period
00:14:08
of time it's just a different feeling when you don't perform. You sort of got your
00:14:13
teammates around you. You know you've contributed over a long period of time. Whereas, this is kind of here and now,
00:14:18
and um that's what you're here to do. So, that's been a bit of a battle over here
00:14:22
because everyone's sort of tiptoeing around it, but we know that we're pretty much out of the tournament now,
00:14:28
so that's been a bit of a shame. >> But I I'm guessing like um you've been around
00:14:34
so long every imaginable scenario like you you've you've been through. I'm sure you've been out for a golden duck
00:14:39
before. You've probably been out for 99 runs. Like you you know the extreme highs and the extreme lows. So, I mean,
00:14:46
yeah, I there there can't be any scenario that you haven't dealt with. >> Uh I've been out to hit wicket six
00:14:51
times. Do you know what that is? Where you like >> Oh, where you have to look at the
00:14:54
wicket? Oh, [laughter] yeah. Oh, yeah. I I I Listen, I gave up playing I loved cricket more than
00:14:59
anything. I gave up when I was 14 because I just got sick of playing a team sport where I was I could feel I
00:15:04
was letting my teammates down. I know very well what a hitting wicket is. >> Yeah. [laughter] So, that's over a long
00:15:09
time. I guess six isn't too bad, but yeah, you just I I don't know. It's it's such a metaphor for life, cricket,
00:15:15
because you learn how to be resilient in the sport, and if you have perspective, you
00:15:21
realize it's just a game, but I just teaches you so many skills for outside of sport. And you know, when you fail,
00:15:28
dealing with that, how you go about um the next day, how you are around the team when there's team success and
00:15:34
there's individual failure or vice versa. There's always someone in a cricket team that's failed and there's
00:15:40
always someone that's succeeded. And I think you just learn so much about your character in the in this environment and
00:15:47
putting yourself out there um knowing that you know, batting probably you know, 70% of the time
00:15:55
doesn't go your way. And so you always are dealing with failure. And it's I think as watching young players come
00:16:01
through, you can see the ones that are resilient and deal with that well. And are able to kind of pick themselves back
00:16:06
up. And yeah, there's lots of strategies you learn that I think are just really helpful in life.
00:16:12
>> Yeah. Well, um you so how do how do you deal with it? When something bad happens like you hit
00:16:16
wicket or you you get out for a duck or you know, you make a stupid mistake. You
00:16:21
you wander back to the pavilion, take your pads off, take your helmet off. Then um
00:16:26
like are you are you angry? Do you do you like are you upset? You burst into tears? What do you do?
00:16:32
>> I've gone through phases. >> [laughter] >> Younger Suzie, um I used to be a crier. Like I'm not
00:16:39
really an angry person. I'm an emotional. So there was I reckon there was a couple of
00:16:44
years where I just hated getting out so much cuz I had been quite successful early in my career and I expected that
00:16:50
those results. And I just used to like cry about like in the toilet. So that I could get out.
00:16:55
>> Oh, really? Like in private. >> sad, isn't it? Yeah, well >> Like trying to keep the noise down.
00:17:00
>> I'm an opening batter. So everyone else who has to bat, so if you're a sad sack
00:17:03
around, everyone else is [laughter] not happy. So I'd go into the toilet and like sort of
00:17:08
give myself 5 to 10 minutes maybe. This is one-day cricket. >> You come back out with red eyes.
00:17:12
>> Yeah, then come back out and hope that it was over. Often it wasn't, but uh now I'm much I think just with
00:17:20
maturity I don't know. There's nothing you can do about it once it's happened. And like
00:17:25
there's still times where I want to throw my bat or you know, shout and scream, but
00:17:33
I think I just sort of take my gear off and sit with the team. And then you just
00:17:37
know you have to have good energy and I sort of have a review process. You know,
00:17:42
was it mental, technical, technical, and then if I need to, I'll touch base with a
00:17:48
coach and talk about it, but by the next day if I'm not over it, there's something wrong.
00:17:53
>> Yeah, [clears throat] okay. So you bounce back fairly quickly. >> Yeah, and sometimes that you have to do more work
00:17:58
to for that, but most of the time the next day the sun comes up and you've got another training or another game. We We
00:18:04
just play so much you have to move on so quickly. >> Well, you I mean that's a good metaphor
00:18:09
for life as well, isn't it? You do You just have to have to, you know, just keep punching on.
00:18:14
>> Mhm. >> Keep [snorts] doing it. Actually, I'm surprised but you're you're like you lean towards batting
00:18:19
more than bowling anyway cuz you grew up with older brothers, right, in Dunedin?
00:18:23
Played a lot of cricket with them. I'm guessing you really got a turn with the bat. You would have been You would have
00:18:27
been the the the bowler, right? >> Yeah, that's [snorts] probably why I lent towards batting cuz
00:18:32
>> [laughter] >> I was sick of bowling, but no, my oldest brother Tom especially just loved it, so
00:18:39
he I'd bowl and he'd tell me to bowl even closer cuz I wasn't fast enough and >> Oh.
00:18:44
>> Yeah, well, I'd very really get a bat and I think that's why when I first started out I was kind of in for a good
00:18:49
time, not a long time, so Yeah, but they're a huge part of why I got into sports, so they were pretty
00:18:54
competitive as well. >> Yeah, let's let's go right back and talk about that. So So you're from Dunedin.
00:19:01
Very high-achieving family, right? Your parents are both lawyers. Dad was a tennis coach as well.
00:19:07
>> Yeah, my mom would say she was an athlete at James Hargest High School as well, but yeah, I guess that's where the
00:19:13
work ethic came from. They both worked. Mum like looked after four kids, Dad worked
00:19:18
really hard, and um yeah, that was just the norm. We all went to school, went to sports
00:19:25
trainings, and Mum drove us around. I don't know how she did it now. I've watched my brothers and sister have
00:19:30
kids, just one kid, so I'm like, "Oh, that seems stressful." But yeah, Dad uh coached tennis, and all
00:19:37
of us started in tennis, and we took it quite seriously, but I think we were all
00:19:41
more into the team sports, and yeah, he played a bit of basketball, so it was down at the Dunedin stadium
00:19:47
bouncing a ball around, and that was just what we knew, and yeah, didn't know any different, and all our friends were
00:19:54
at sports games, and um we were always busy. >> How much of um cuz we'll get into everything to do with
00:20:02
you. Like there's the basketball, which you were phenomenal at, and and now the cricket. Were you How much of it is like
00:20:08
natural talent, and how much of it is hard work, and just the hours that you put in as a kid?
00:20:13
What do you reckon? There must be some natural talent there, right? But >> Yeah, feel like yeah, it's hard, is it?
00:20:17
Like an environment. I feel like I guess more than some kids, I was just around a ball and kicking or
00:20:26
throwing or passing with my brothers, and with my parents playing sport, that was
00:20:31
just I guess you accidentally practice more, and just have hand-eye coordination, um
00:20:40
and it probably wasn't until I was 15 that I like trained, or you know, practiced
00:20:47
hard. I just turned up to practice and played. It was a real joy of just playing games, and then it was at 15 I
00:20:53
started to take my cricket and basketball serious, and then the fitness came into it, and the work you needed to
00:20:58
put in for that, and then I guess wanting to get better, that's when I probably started to work harder.
00:21:05
>> Wait, you say at 15 you started to take it seriously, but at 15 that's when you
00:21:10
like made your like rip debut, right? And you played at Carisbrook. >> [laughter]
00:21:14
>> So, you So, what what do you What do you mean? You must have been taking it seriously
00:21:18
before then. >> Well, no. I felt like I didn't have to fall into it. I literally just played.
00:21:22
Like I was just like I was playing games and I loved it. Like whether it was with
00:21:26
the boys or the girls, I just played sport. It wasn't even didn't matter what it was. Those were just
00:21:31
seemed the most accessible. And then, yeah, I'll never forget that because I didn't own spikes. So, when you play
00:21:36
cricket, you need the spikes so you don't slip over, but I'd never owned a pair and I got called in to play this
00:21:42
game and I was bowling and I kept slipping. So, mid over the captain switched shoes. So, I wore her spikes
00:21:49
and she wore my running shoes and I bowled 10 overs in a row and then the next day dad had to go out and buy me
00:21:54
some spikes for the game the next day. >> Oh, what a story. So, you're you So, um
00:22:00
was it years then or was it was it fifth form? I'm I'm showing my age here. >> I think it was years.
00:22:05
>> Years. >> So, yeah. Oh, no, no. Yeah, year 10. >> So, you're in So, you're in year 10. Um
00:22:11
Yeah, that's crazy young age. You look back now from the perspective of a woman in her mid mid-30s. Like you're a kid.
00:22:17
Was that Was that intimidating at the time or did you just have that like like youthful like brashness or confidence or
00:22:24
cockiness or whatever? >> Yeah, I just I don't know. It was like just come play game of cricket. I just
00:22:30
didn't really think about it. But >> So, it was the Otago Was it the Otago? >> Yeah, it was the Otago Sparks and it was
00:22:35
the end of the season and they'd had an injury and I think someone was leaving for the last round. So, they just called
00:22:40
me in and it was like a game of cricket. I was like, "Cool." I was just so chilled about it. And then
00:22:47
I just bowled like I would on a Saturday with the boys and um yeah, then I've played ever since.
00:22:53
So, that's why it's been half my life. >> That's funny. I I I interrupted you just
00:22:56
before when you you said I I wish I still had that. It's like um there's There's there's a saying that the youth
00:23:01
youth is wasted on the young. Um and I suppose as you get older, you sort of overthink things and
00:23:07
yeah. But you So you you you don't remember being intimidated cuz I'm I'm just everyone else in the team were like
00:23:11
sort of grown women. >> I just remember loving it. It was like whenever I played like the next level, I
00:23:19
found it just so much more fun. It was like when you played with your peers or played club cricket, then you played for
00:23:26
a target. It was like, "Woah, this standard is so much fun." And it's I've always enjoyed being around older people
00:23:32
as like athletes. I looked up to them and I almost wanted to impress them. It was like with my brothers, I wanted to
00:23:37
prove that I was good enough. Um and I Yeah, it wasn't intimidation. I was just had so many role models,
00:23:44
whether it was basketball, cricket, that I just felt really lucky to hang out with and go to tournaments and just play
00:23:52
sport. It was the dream. >> And at 15, I'm guessing $30 a day or whatever was like quite a lot of money.
00:23:57
>> Yeah, and you got the [laughter] food money and I was living at home. And they'd joke because I'd go and get
00:24:01
Subway and then save, you know, pocket $20. So you could actually, you know, >> Do you remember
00:24:06
>> with your money, yeah. Or play the old They'll laugh at this, but the I've got
00:24:10
my wallet. >> Oh, that's good. >> Every time I forgot my wallet, so I could save the full $30.
00:24:15
>> [laughter] >> So um and yeah, what was cricket like growing up cuz I've had Sophie Devine on
00:24:19
the podcast and she talked about being in like mixed teams. Um Were you in mixed teams or were they girls teams in
00:24:25
Dunedin when you were when you were growing up? >> It was mainly mixed. I was just The club
00:24:31
I was at, it was the the brothers and then the younger sisters and they happened to be three or four of us, so
00:24:36
we kind of went through the ages together playing with the boys, but we always had two or three
00:24:42
girlfriends in the team. So um and then got to high school and that was the only all-girls cricket I've
00:24:48
played and even Dunedin club cricket I played third grade men's cuz there wasn't a women's club competition, so
00:24:55
I think it was an advantage to play with the boys at that age. I think now um girls do play mainly girls cricket,
00:25:04
which has its benefits, but I think it was a bit of a tougher challenge and um yeah, I got sledged more in men's club
00:25:12
cricket than I ever did in international cricket. >> Did you? Did you? Really? They Like like
00:25:16
what? What what would they say? [snorts] >> Uh >> Like sexist stuff or >> No, not I'll never forget one cuz I
00:25:22
think we'd played New Zealand played in a 2020 World Cup with at Lords in like 2010,
00:25:29
long time ago. And [snorts] then we were playing at Kensington Oval and he was like, "Oh, from Lords to Kensington."
00:25:35
Like >> [laughter] >> And I was like, "Wow, yeah, that's And just started guys that I went to
00:25:42
school with and they'd just get stuck in and yeah, I can't remember specifically, but
00:25:47
I used to find >> not sort of friendly banter? >> banter, but I feel at international
00:25:51
cricket we don't say that much or maybe I don't encourage um too much banter, but
00:25:56
>> Yeah, is is sledging a thing in the in the women's game or or not so much? >> I feel like it's really toned down since
00:26:02
there's all these overseas competitions, you never know who you're going to end up in a team with, so
00:26:07
>> [laughter] >> I think people >> Yeah, they're they're mindful of that. >> Yeah, you we used to play Australia and
00:26:12
we just like you know, there was this feeling of we don't like you and we never will like you, but you didn't know
00:26:17
them off the park. You just knew them on the field. Where you just started to play in their teams and you're like,
00:26:22
"Oh, damn, I actually kind of like some of them." >> Yeah, that's annoying. I can't hate them
00:26:27
now. >> Although um yeah, having Sophie Devine on the podcast last year, again I I
00:26:32
don't know her very well, just from the podcast conversation we've had, but I I don't I'd imagine she would potentially
00:26:37
be a sledger. >> Yeah, domestically there's her and Frankie Mackay and actually Kate
00:26:43
Ebrahim, they're kind of the known ones to get into a bit of biffo on the field. She has um
00:26:48
definitely toned down in her older years, but yeah, she she'll give it if she's in the mood and sometimes as a
00:26:55
fast bowler you feel like you can back it up as a batter. The only thing that can happen is you can get out and so
00:27:01
there's no point I guess running your mouth off. >> [laughter] >> Cuz they can have the last laugh.
00:27:06
>> And and where did the where did the basketball thing come from? Was that just like a like a a side like a another
00:27:11
sport just something you see you had like was it like cricket in summer, basketball in winter? Where how did you
00:27:17
fit it all in? >> Yeah, I don't know how like my brothers played like Tom loved the Chicago Bulls so that was like the
00:27:24
Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen era and I just remember >> Rodman, yeah, Phil Jackson as coach.
00:27:29
>> And he had all the gear and I just used to think he was so cool. Now, you know,
00:27:33
he's my older brother but >> How much older is he? >> Uh, he'd be five or six years so.
00:27:40
>> Yeah, him you know, it's quite funny from doing this podcast and speaking to so many sort of like high performance
00:27:45
and people. Uh a lot of something that a lot of people like a huge majority have in common is
00:27:50
having like an older brother that I suppose you know, older brother or older siblings that force you to sort of lift
00:27:55
your game. >> Yeah, and I just I don't know what it was. He just was into sport and so I
00:28:00
hung around like a bad smell and I remember watching like Bulls finals and then we'd go out and shoot on the like
00:28:07
made up hoop wasn't I think it was like full size but dad had kind of made a backboard and then dad played club
00:28:13
basketball so I got involved in a club and I just kept playing. I I loved the game of basketball so much fun. I loved
00:28:20
watching it so that's sort of how that started but I gave everything a go really. I played rugby, I played soccer.
00:28:26
Mom wasn't happy cuz I started in soccer and then I had two guy mates that we hung out cricket
00:28:33
and soccer and then one year I went back and they'd gone to rugby so I was like I'm not playing soccer. I want to play
00:28:38
with my mates. >> [laughter] >> But mom hadn't told me. So then I ended up playing rugby cuz being an aunt
00:28:44
my two best mates were playing and that's how rugby started and then I played touch at school and volleyball
00:28:50
and then I think it was just cricket and basketball had opportunities or rep teams and that's where it sort of lead.
00:28:55
Yeah. >> So, which which national team did you make first? Was it the New Zealand
00:29:00
cricket team or the New Zealand basketball team? >> Yeah, the cricket team, sorry. I was
00:29:06
just questioning myself. I should remember. >> [laughter] >> It was They were like 1 year after each
00:29:10
other but it was cricket my last year of school I got picked but I was actually planning on going to college in America
00:29:17
for basketball so the coach at the time had heard that and I think he picked me to try and keep me in New Zealand
00:29:24
because if I gone to college in America that may have been 4 years without cricket so.
00:29:30
>> Do Do you spend much time like sitting and reflecting on what you've done? Like
00:29:32
it's [ __ ] it's insane, right? It's phenomenal. So, while you're still a teenager you're playing cricket and
00:29:37
basketball for New Zealand. You're double international while you're still a school kid.
00:29:42
>> Yeah, I probably >> You You constantly looking forward or do sometimes do you like do you pause to
00:29:46
reflect on these things? >> I think it's probably to my detriment I am always looking at the next challenge
00:29:52
and I'm probably I'm just so hard on myself which if I saw in someone else I'd, you
00:29:58
know, tell them not to be but it's also I guess got me to where I am and kept me
00:30:03
going but yeah, I don't know. I think when it was just happening it was kind of I just didn't think about it. It was
00:30:11
like I loved those sports and then there was a team and they were so I was like I'll train hard to get in that team and
00:30:17
then I saw another team and I was like oh I want to be in that team and lucky I had so much support and
00:30:22
financial support that there weren't those barriers to stop me from achieving that um but yeah, I I'm I'm sure
00:30:30
there'll be one day probably when I finally retire that I'll sit back and just be so proud cuz I sort
00:30:37
of set goals and then achieve them which sometimes doesn't It doesn't work out like that.
00:30:43
So, >> Yeah, it's it's [laughter] insane, really. When you think about it. But, I
00:30:47
I I don't know if you ever will. I don't I think you've just got that sort of growth mindset. I've seen other people
00:30:52
on the podcast like this. Um in the later stages of their career, like Hannah Wilkinson from the Football
00:30:57
Ferns, Kendra Cocksedge, and so yeah, Sophie Devine. And I feel like you've all got the similar sort of mindset
00:31:02
where whatever you're doing in life, whether it's competitive sport or something else, you're going to be like
00:31:06
looking forward. It's like a growth mindset thing. But, you do want to pause occasionally
00:31:11
and think about how awesome you are. >> [laughter] >> Uh yeah, I could do with that right now,
00:31:16
actually. I think with my batting, it's been a bit of a >> Yeah. >> minefield, and like yeah, just when I've
00:31:24
got out there, just it's not quite going my way, and I've just got to sometimes stop. And um actually, even with cricket
00:31:31
sometimes, I do go back and watch footage, cuz sometimes you can feel a little bit like out of rhythm in the
00:31:36
middle, and I'll go back and just watch my boundaries. >> Mhm. >> And then I'm like, "Whoa, you're good."
00:31:41
>> [laughter] >> And then sometimes it's like an out-of-body experience. You're like,
00:31:44
"Did I do that?" And then watching video of yourself hitting boundaries. So, yeah, uh maybe I'll take some time in
00:31:50
the next couple of days while I'm in London, people watching, just to think how I got here. It's pretty cool,
00:31:55
really. >> Yeah, it's it's got to be a weird thing. I don't know if this is if this is
00:31:58
something you can explain or not. But, yeah, I I suppose you have periods where you just feel like you're a hot knife
00:32:03
going through hard butter, and you go out there, and you know, you you're in that flow state, the ball
00:32:09
looks bigger, and just nothing goes wrong. And then there's periods where you're in like a form slump, and you try
00:32:15
even harder, and nothing goes right. >> Yeah, well, that's exactly >> Yeah, is it?
00:32:19
>> It's like the harder you try, the worse it gets. And it is it's like there's days and there's
00:32:25
periods where you're batting, and you feel like you have so much control of where you're hitting the ball, you have
00:32:31
so much time, and then there's times where you feel like you you know where your next run is
00:32:36
coming from. And I don't reckon there'd be one better in the world that's never felt that. And
00:32:40
you know what it feels like either way, but it's being able to actually get yourself back to that space
00:32:48
um is easier said than done. And yeah, that's kind of I mean that's space a little bit at the moment where I seem to
00:32:54
just feel like I'm hitting the field and then the frustration builds and you try
00:32:57
harder and harder and the worse it gets. But there's sort of like one score and then all of a sudden you're in that flow
00:33:02
state. And as a batter, there's nothing better than being out in the middle when
00:33:07
you feel like you're just You can't do anything wrong. It's like a sort of like a zen space that lots of batters talk
00:33:14
about where they just feel it's um yeah, it's kind of an out-of-body experience where it's just flowing and
00:33:20
happening. >> Mhm. I suppose you know, I mean I guess what anyone would tell you was would be
00:33:25
when you're in a like a one of those slumps is just to like relax and have fun. But like what does that mean
00:33:30
exactly? Like >> Yeah, have fun. And I'm like, yeah, but it's not fun when you're not [laughter]
00:33:33
scoring. I don't like it's fun when you're scoring runs. So it's like, just have fun. And then yeah. And I it's so
00:33:39
it is sweet. You play with people all around the world. And everyone's been in form or out of form, whatever
00:33:46
that really means. But they Yeah, everyone's tries to be helpful. But at the end of
00:33:50
the day, it's only you that can fix what's sort of going on upstairs. And that's kind of like the beauty of
00:33:56
cricket in a messed up way is that it's so mental. And you know, it's your mindset. And
00:34:02
that's, you know, the biggest test of character is getting that mindset right and being positive and staying positive.
00:34:09
And that's why I think it's just such a great game because that's what life's about, too. It's No matter what's going
00:34:15
on, it's how you actually choose to respond. >> Yeah. And and and um how do you like how
00:34:20
do you choose to I know you've you've got like um you things that you do. Like I know
00:34:24
you're into meditation and you'd like to journal. Um do you have much to do with
00:34:28
a sports psychologist? >> Yeah, we've had over the years lots those types of people involved and
00:34:35
um I built a really good rapport with Gary Hermanson. He was actually at the 2008 Olympics, not with basketball, but
00:34:43
as a psychologist and then he's been around cricket, so we've kind of connected over the years and yeah, I
00:34:50
talk to him about lots of different things and touch base. And I don't know, it's just lots of reading. There's so
00:34:57
many books out there and just taking snippets from different books. Like Mel and Sophie love that sort of stuff, too.
00:35:04
So, it's having conversations about people's routines or their mental processes. Um
00:35:10
yeah, so there's lots of ways [snorts] to get there and it's just making sure that you actually do it
00:35:15
daily, I think. Initially, it was like when I'm struggling, then I'd go to that, whereas actually just doing it
00:35:21
daily and it's a constant process then, I think you have >> Yeah. >> less of the ups and downs.
00:35:28
>> Yeah, much like much like life. And and and and it's like it is like that. Like it's
00:35:32
like you know, the last few years I've I've had some mental health like sort of struggles and
00:35:37
I've figured out what's good for me, but it's like you need that sort of like plan in place the whole time, not just
00:35:44
like, "Oh [ __ ] I'm struggling that now it's time to do it." All right, you need
00:35:47
those good habits. >> Yeah, and like even though you know what you need to do, it's actually doing it and I think
00:35:55
>> When you're feeling good, you don't want to do it. >> Yeah, no, exactly. And that's yeah, it's
00:35:59
like that self-care part of everything and like that's harder than um than it sounds sometimes, but yeah, it's
00:36:09
I don't know, the cricket I think is just the greatest game for that sort of stuff because there's so
00:36:16
many highs and lows, but it's all in perspective as well, but you still feel it cuz that's what you do. So, and I
00:36:21
know you love your running and that's some something I really try and do when I'm on tour because sometimes you can
00:36:28
play but actually like when you're in London just getting out going for a jog and millions of people realizing that no
00:36:35
one really cares about what you do on a cricket field. >> [laughter] >> At the end of the day you care but it's
00:36:39
very small in the in the scheme of things. >> insular. It's like you like most things
00:36:43
in life I guess. Um yeah, I've I've heard that. You say you you're you're the one that's most likely to like rally
00:36:49
up a few teammates and get out for a morning run. >> Yeah, we love on tour especially later
00:36:54
on the tour everyone gets a bit tired but when we first get some of the run club the white ferns run club
00:36:59
and often it's jet lag so we're awake at like 6:00 so we're all excited but at the end of the tour we're all sleeping
00:37:04
until 10:00 so everyone's up and about but [laughter] yeah, I just think running is just just
00:37:09
like that's another thing like cricket is just such a beautiful thing that you don't feel like doing it sometimes. You
00:37:14
don't want to do it but you never regret when you get out there and running with
00:37:17
other people. It's like the endorphins and I don't know getting up going for a run with friends and having brunch. Like
00:37:24
you can't really be in a bad mood after that. Something might happen in the day but if you start your day like that so
00:37:30
when we're on tour I know like people get homesick and they miss their friends and family. I just think it's a great
00:37:35
way to start the day and like when we're in Sri Lanka it was so cool. We like running along and there's like
00:37:40
police guys running with us the tuk-tuks there's like cows on the street and we're like dodging and all these people
00:37:46
like clapping as we run past. It was like 30° and 90% humidity so they were like
00:37:51
what are they doing but we were just >> Oh, how good. Jogging >> around girls lots of them.
00:37:56
>> Yeah, I I agree like people say oh you love running but it's like sometimes I
00:38:00
love running and sometimes I [ __ ] hate it but there's there's one consistent with every single run and
00:38:06
that's as soon as I finish I always feel amazing and I never regret it and I feel
00:38:10
good for hours afterwards whether it was a good run or a bad run. It's magical. So you you mentioned the Olympics before
00:38:16
so you went to the 2008 Olympics in Beijing. That was for basketball playing. So you were like 19 at the
00:38:22
time? 20 at the time? >> Yeah, I'm 19. >> Yeah. Yeah, you see I've seen some photos
00:38:27
maybe on your Instagram of you playing. You look [clears throat] so young, eh. >> [laughter]
00:38:31
>> Yeah, the the freckles and the freckles. No, you you still look incredibly young now, but but you you
00:38:36
just look like a like a a kid. It's crazy. So, you So, you you make the the team to go to the Olympics.
00:38:44
I'm guessing basketball There's probably no expectation really of New Zealand to
00:38:47
win a medal, right? So, you you're kind of there as a tourist, would you say? Or
00:38:50
is that Would that Is that a mean thing to say? >> No, that's not at all. As a matter of
00:38:54
fact, I look back on that experience and like I was so overwhelmed. Like I was 19 from
00:39:01
Dunedin and I'd watched the Olympics on TV and I I was like, "Man, that'd be cool to go to
00:39:07
an Olympics." But I kind of didn't think it was going to happen, but it worked out that Australia won the World Champs,
00:39:13
so we had a easier qualification and I just got there and every day I was like overwhelmed, you know, like you're
00:39:20
seeing Roger Federer, you was like even the New Zealand athletes there we had at the
00:39:25
time like Valerie Adams and the Hamish Bonds and Eric Murray and the gold medalists and you were kind of
00:39:33
in that bubble that for so long you'd just watched on TV and um just walking around the village and there was free
00:39:40
stuff everywhere and there was this massive food hall with a 24-hour McDonald's, which
00:39:45
was like you'd just go up and order 12 Big Macs if you wanted. Obviously, we were [snorts] athletes. Um
00:39:50
And yeah, we competed hard, but like we I don't know where our ranking was, but the fact that
00:39:57
we won our first game and we didn't win any games after that, but we definitely partied afterwards.
00:40:04
>> Yeah. You That's what you'd hope with the Olympics, [laughter] I guess. As someone that's that's never never been
00:40:09
never has a chance of going. You just want to get your event over and done with early so you can enjoy the whole
00:40:13
Olympic experience. There'd be nothing worse than, you know, having your event on the last day or something. So, did
00:40:18
you guys take advantage of the McDonald's or do you have It's It's quite weird, isn't it? Cuz I
00:40:23
suppose they're a big sponsor of the Olympics, but you don't associate necessarily McDonald's with you know,
00:40:28
the elite you know, sports people of the world. Did you have like a nutritionist
00:40:32
or anyone on your team that's like, "No, girls. Easy Easy on the Big Macs." >> Well, it was kind of like and I
00:40:40
I guess going there with the expectation to win gold, you can embrace it how we embraced it.
00:40:46
So, it's >> [laughter] >> it's a different experience. We played, we got there, we trained
00:40:49
hard, we ate well, but when we had finished, you can't like you stay until everyone leaves. What a shame. They
00:40:56
probably do it different now with COVID, but like the New Zealand athletes, we I think we had 9 days where we'd
00:41:02
finished and we got to stay at the village. And I was like, "What do they expect us
00:41:06
to do?" Like we we just went out every night and [laughter] we'd end up at McDonald's every night.
00:41:11
And but there it's funny, you turn up to the Olympics, well, this was my experience, and everyone at the start
00:41:17
keeps themselves as very serious training and then it slowly just [laughter] capitulates to like this uni college
00:41:25
party and there's unfortunate athletes that are at the end, but you can just see everyone just gets loose cuz for 4
00:41:31
years some of these >> Oh, yeah. Highly strung for 4 years just thinking about this every day.
00:41:37
>> So, we were part of that and we got amongst it and it was yeah, those people that I had that work with
00:41:43
are some of my closest mates. We just have spread out all over the world and we don't see each other, but we had a
00:41:48
good time. >> And your your whole family went over to to watch and support as well. That must
00:41:52
have been incredible. >> It was very cool and I remember sort of the moment that that was my older
00:41:57
brothers. I was like, yeah, they've I'm at the Olympics and like I've made it and they they're proud
00:42:03
of me. And I'm sure they always were, but that was kind of a moment for me. And I was getting them into after
00:42:07
parties, so that made me feel like I was the the younger sister. So, I remember looking up in the stands when the first
00:42:14
national anthem came on and they were all there, so yeah, that was the first time probably in my international career
00:42:21
that I'd had everyone um watching me. >> So, were you like nervous at the time? Like
00:42:27
did have you ever sort of suffered like a a thing called imposter syndrome? Or or no? Were you just sort of
00:42:33
I deserve to be here, I belong here. Or you didn't it just didn't even sort of think about it?
00:42:38
>> I think with that I got dropped the tour just before the Olympic selection, so
00:42:45
I remember missing out on the 12 and I was like, "Oh, my Olympic dream's over." But I gave it everything and I sort of
00:42:51
accepted that, but that tour didn't go very well, so then I just was like, "I'm just going to train
00:42:56
as hard as I can until this whole campaign's over." And they came back and like unfortunately some people in that
00:43:04
squad had failed, but I almost hadn't been in the coaches' eyes and I'd worked really hard. And so I felt lucky to make
00:43:10
the 12, so when I got there, I didn't really feel expectation. I knew I'd be on the bench, but I just every time I
00:43:17
went on I was going to give it my all. And I actually had probably one of my best games for New
00:43:23
Zealand at the Olympics against Spain. Um and that was quite a cool moment cuz after that I thought I can actually
00:43:29
really compete at international level where I always felt at target level, but the
00:43:34
next step up in playing against proper international teams, I didn't quite believe I had the skill, but that was a
00:43:40
moment there I was like, "Ah, I can do this." Yeah. >> Yeah, good for you. And and you
00:43:45
mentioned Roger Federer before. Did you did you meet anyone like at the Olympics? Or did you just sort of leave
00:43:50
them alone? You you sort of see them from Actually, this is probably before like
00:43:54
phones with cameras, right? >> Not quite that. There were cameras, but >> Oh, like on shitty Nokias or
00:44:00
>> Yeah, and I was I don't know, I was too shy, which is a sort of a regret. >> It's it's Dunedin thing ever, isn't it?
00:44:07
I know, and you feel like everyone's doing everyone's there doing the same thing. You don't want to piss the
00:44:12
>> Mhm. >> You're not like a fan. You felt like you were an athlete and if everyone was
00:44:15
coming up to you you're going to be annoying. So, but I sort of regret that cuz it was my one chance. But, we did
00:44:21
meet the dream team, which was the highlight of my entire life. >> Oh, the US men's team?
00:44:27
>> Yes. >> [laughter] >> Did What Yeah, what was the circumstances? >> [snorts] >> Uh No, no, no, no. I feel like I need to
00:44:34
um censor this from other Olympic efforts cuz >> [laughter] >> I'll be like, "What What an Olympics
00:44:40
they had." Um This We went and watched the men's final and the security guard was like everyone was cheering for Spain
00:44:49
and they were like, "If you cheer for us, you can come to the after party." And I don't even know how that really
00:44:56
happened, but I didn't really believe it. We went back to the village and then next minute this girl was like, "The The
00:45:01
bus is here. We've got to go. We've got to go." And we rushed out and it was the
00:45:05
basket the men's American basketball team on the bus and we got taken to this rooftop party. They had all these
00:45:11
curtains pulled on the bus and they were like, "No selfies. No photos." We had to
00:45:16
go off the back of the bus. They went off the front and then we are up in this rooftop party with the dream team just
00:45:23
hanging out. >> [laughter] >> So, what >> Which when I say it loud it's still I'm
00:45:27
like, I don't even know how it happened, but it did. >> It's LeBron James was on the team. Kobe
00:45:32
Was Kobe in the team? >> Yeah, Kobe was in the team. >> You met him? >> I did meet Kobe, which um
00:45:37
Yeah, they were having a good time the the men's team, but yeah, it was >> What you What you What do you mean you
00:45:43
What's the interaction? What was the conversation? >> Well, we just got put in this like booth
00:45:48
with all these free drinks and they were sort of sitting around and uh one of the girls and I was like, "Oh
00:45:54
my gosh, this is so embarrassing." There was like she plays cricket for New Zealand.
00:45:58
>> [laughter] >> And I'll never forget Dwyane Wade, who was at the time one of my favorites. He was
00:46:04
like, "You're telling me you play a game for 5 days and you don't get a result?" That's
00:46:09
what he knew about cricket. And I was like, I was just so awkward and shy. Um but we just I don't know. We just talked
00:46:16
and partied and it I just I don't even know. I probably didn't say much cuz I was like so over all
00:46:23
of it. Yeah, and David Beckham was at the party, too. So >> sake. Who >> [laughter]
00:46:27
>> Wow. Oh, you you almost overlooked that one. >> I you know, he was >> By the way,
00:46:32
>> he was in extra VIP section. Um Dirk Nowitzki was around those Olympics. He was
00:46:39
um a pretty big-time player and yeah, we just partied with celebrities. >> Unbelievable.
00:46:47
>> [laughter] >> I thought the All Blacks, you know, were cool and then I went to the Olympics and
00:46:50
I was >> Oh, yeah, that's No, that's that's next level. So, was Le- LeBron a big deal at
00:46:54
the time? Or was this this fairly early on in his >> Well, he would have He was big deal, but
00:46:58
he What I remember about him is he came down the bus and he introduced himself to everyone, which I thought was so
00:47:05
ridiculous. Like, "Hi, I'm LeBron." I'm like, "No shit." >> [laughter] >> Yeah, we know, mate.
00:47:10
>> Yeah. I'm Suzy. >> Isn't that funny cuz um I I mean to drop a name here. Nowhere as
00:47:16
good as your name drop there, but um uh one of my friends, Christian Cullen, used to play for the All Blacks.
00:47:20
>> Christian Cullen. >> And um many years ago uh Tiger Woods came to New Zealand to play the New
00:47:25
Zealand Golf Open in Paraparaumu. And Christian and a and a bunch of other All Blacks, they they got the chance to go
00:47:30
there and meet him. So, they're waiting in the car park specifically for Tiger to turn up so they can meet him. And
00:47:36
then Tiger gets out of his car and goes around everyone and does the same thing.
00:47:38
Like, "Hi, I'm Tiger Woods." And Christian's like, "Yeah, I I know who the [ __ ] you are. Like, we've been
00:47:43
waiting here 45 minutes for you." Isn't that something? So, LeBron's the same. >> Yeah, he Yeah, made a point. He was
00:47:48
really friendly and I just Yeah, it was like, "Hi, I'm Suzy. Hi." Yeah, very cool. It was um I I really
00:47:57
don't even know how we got ourselves in that position but it was [snorts] the highlight of the Olympics other than
00:48:03
the first game that we won of course. >> [laughter] >> Yeah, I'm sure the New Zealand Olympic
00:48:09
Committee was sports funding New Zealand would hate to hear that. >> [laughter] >> Highlight of the [ __ ] games is
00:48:13
meetings. Yeah. So what do you what do you do you get like a a participation like medal or
00:48:19
certificate you know saying you made the New Zealand squad and Like what sort of trinkets or
00:48:24
certificates do you get? >> You get a lot. Yeah. This is actually really cool like you
00:48:29
get a number so you're Olympian. I think I was 194 and you get a badge and that's
00:48:34
your number forever. You get like this photo board of every single athlete that attended the
00:48:41
Olympics. Um You know there's lots of like we got a ponamu fern. Yeah and I've kept so much of that stuff
00:48:51
so like a blazer uniform and But yeah just that you're an Olympic athlete and I think what's really cool is I got when
00:49:00
we went with cricket to the Commonwealth Games is that was about mid-length so I
00:49:05
felt like I'd had the experience of participating and being involved and then the Commonwealth Games was like
00:49:12
we're here to win a medal and it was a different experience so I sort of got the best of both
00:49:17
>> Yeah yeah it's funny that I you had two very I mean there's so there's the the Olympics where you're
00:49:23
going as a basketball player so no expectations of doing well. And then you come with games as a
00:49:28
cricketer where like you guys got to got a bronze but I suppose like anything less than that
00:49:32
coming home with a medal yeah people would call you chokers cuz the expectations are that high.
00:49:37
Um but also there's the age difference as well. You're very young at the Olympics
00:49:41
probably like a bit naive you know. And then you're sort of old and experienced and you know one of the like
00:49:47
key members of the squad for the the com games. >> Yeah and it was I like remember thinking
00:49:53
like there's so many distractions of games whether it's Olympic or Commonwealth Games.
00:50:00
And I remember just talking to some of the young girls cuz I was like embrace that like but know when it's time to not
00:50:06
embrace it cuz we probably um embraced it a whole lot more back in 2008 but it was like don't not embrace
00:50:14
it because you need to get to the village, be amongst the be just an athlete not a cricketer. But then when
00:50:20
it's time to go to training and cricket let's make sure we're here and we're doing our job and then we can switch
00:50:25
off. And we had a lot of young players so I felt it was almost a benefit to have been there before and know what to
00:50:31
expect but yeah to stand on that podium um that was yeah that's also one of my highlights so um it was really
00:50:39
>> Oh so many [laughter] so many but there's been so many highlights. And as we discussed before you're not
00:50:45
one that spends much time like looking back but um one one day maybe that time will come
00:50:49
and [ __ ] there's a lot of highlights to get through. We where is that bronze medal?
00:50:53
Better not be in a sock drawer. >> No do you know what's annoying is I cuz we were on the road after that for a
00:50:59
long time so I had to send the bag home. Um it's in like I've got cuz my parents moved house
00:51:08
and my house I didn't want too much clutter but I've got one box that sits in um my bookshelf with uh that medal. I
00:51:16
think it's got like I have like a hundredth cap from the white fans and it's got a few of the really special
00:51:21
things but yeah that's fine you get those things but you don't really sit them out on
00:51:27
display so sometimes >> Oh I would. >> [laughter] >> Yeah maybe yeah maybe one day. We get
00:51:32
like just a room a dark room. >> Yeah. >> But [snorts] yeah I I have them and sometimes I know when you're moving or
00:51:39
shifting you do get it out and you sort of reminisce. >> Yeah it's a it's a very humble way to be
00:51:44
I I don't I don't know do you do you think that's because you've like from this from a in small city in New Zealand or
00:51:51
is it just how you are as a person? >> Uh I think it's probably how my family brought me up and I've always had
00:52:02
three siblings that I think keep you pretty grounded and I think it is a little bit the Dunedin
00:52:08
and Otago way. We don't I don't know. We >> Not too showy. >> No, we're not showy at all and
00:52:16
I don't know. I just always feel like what I do and this is going to sound probably a bit bad, but it's sort
00:52:23
of insignificant in the scheme of really important stuff that goes on. I I get to
00:52:29
do a hobby or a passion that's quite a selfish pursuit. So, I'm like I know like I'm proud of what I've done,
00:52:37
but it's also not as important as a lot of other stuff out there. So, yeah, I don't know.
00:52:42
>> What What about your degree? So, you you've you've got a degree like a sports
00:52:45
side. By the way, I don't know how you've fit all this stuff in. [laughter] You know, cricket for New Zealand,
00:52:51
basketball for New Zealand and a degree to fall back on just in case sport didn't work out. Spoiler alert, it's
00:52:55
worked out just fine. But like most people I think get their degree framed and have it have it hanging somewhere.
00:53:01
[ __ ] my doctor is in her 60s, she's still got her degree hanging on the wall. Where's yours? Is it in that box?
00:53:07
>> Uh well, it's now in a box. It was hanging in my room at my parents' house cuz that was That took me 6 years and
00:53:13
that was That was a battle because I started phys ed school and at the time I wasn't like, "I'm going to get paid to
00:53:20
play sport." So, it was really important. I was like, "I need to get this done while I'm doing my hobbies."
00:53:24
is what it felt like. But then there'd be a trip to India or trip to England and then I'd sort of put it off for
00:53:31
there's just something exciting coming up and uni was just so boring compared to traveling the world playing sport,
00:53:37
but I sort of just kept chipping away. And I'm so glad I did even though at the time
00:53:42
>> Oh, yeah, >> why? It It doesn't feel like a waste of years. Like, you were never going to use
00:53:46
that degree. >> No, no, but because I was I was still doing what I wanted to do as well. It
00:53:52
wasn't like it was to sacrifice getting those opportunities. I could train, you know, like you can't train
00:53:59
all day, so using my brain in other ways and I just to finish it. And if it hadn't
00:54:04
have worked out, had I got injured or something, at least I kind of had that. Um and I I probably that's something
00:54:10
with some of the younger players. I'm like, keep using your brain. Not to sacrifice being the best cricketer you
00:54:17
can be, but I think it's healthy. >> Yeah, so what was your Dunedin experience like? Did you Did you flat at
00:54:21
all, or you just lived at home? >> No, mate. I'd say that so I wasn't a true scarfie.
00:54:25
>> Right. Oh, were you Were you like a a bit of a nerd? I suppose you like you were, you know, doing your sports stuff,
00:54:30
so you're probably training a lot. You probably never got into the whole Because you've never done a shoey.
00:54:34
>> No, I wasn't [laughter] great with the booze, to be fair. Still I'm still not.
00:54:40
>> [snorts] >> Uh >> I think that's something to be proud of though. Like, New Zealand's going to be
00:54:43
proud of >> an alter ego, Betsy. It's yeah. [laughter] >> And who's Betsy? >> Betsy just That's what happens when um
00:54:50
Suzie has a bit too much to drink, so we try to Well, when I was younger, Betsy came out more often. This year, makes an
00:54:55
appearance every now and then. It's a running joke, like, is Betsy out tonight or is it just Suzie? Cuz Suzie's boring
00:55:00
to everyone else. Um But yeah, I don't know. I sort of was at home and not I didn't like flat or gone
00:55:07
to halls. I flatted a couple of years later, but I sort of there trying to get it done and then I'd go off and play
00:55:13
sports. So, it was a very different experience to >> So, you never went to a Castle Street
00:55:17
party? >> I never went to there. I went into like the old Captain Cook Tavern, like the
00:55:21
Sunday sessions occasionally. Don't know why. It was a bad idea, but >> I bet. See, it's such a Betsy thing to
00:55:27
do. >> Betsy was uh >> So, what's um what's Betsy like? When does she come out? Is it like three
00:55:33
drinks, four drinks? >> Uh probably three now. >> Three? >> Yeah. She just is very excitable and up for
00:55:40
anything. Like Sensible Susie and then Bitsy is just like let's go. >> [laughter]
00:55:44
>> I reckon to get out of this form slump you're talking about at the moment, I reckon couple of quiet get Bitsy out
00:55:49
there. Get Bitsy going at the bat. >> We did give it a good nudge on Tuesday the group actually. There's because we
00:55:54
played four games in eight days. And so there's a ship that's like parked right outside a hotel like docked. But
00:56:01
they it's like a bar outdoor bar. So we booked a table and we did have a few drinks which was nice actually cuz
00:56:06
everyone was a bit gutted after Tuesday's game. So it is there's a time and a place for it I think to switch
00:56:11
off. Not you don't always need alcohol but sometimes as a team that's a good way to kind of connect and
00:56:18
>> Yeah, let your hair down a bit. >> Yeah. >> Yeah. All right. So we talked about
00:56:22
LeBron before and and David Beckham. I scrolled way back through your Instagram.
00:56:28
There's some other celebrities as well like Charlie Watts the late drummer for the Rolling Stones. There's a photo of
00:56:33
you with Charlie Watts. >> Yeah, that's that's another one I just don't know how they I've just been in
00:56:37
the right place at the right time. Um so they loved cricket the Rolling Stones and they were touring
00:56:43
Australia and they were in Perth and they came to the WACA for like a tour of the ground and we happened to be
00:56:48
training and there was another overseas player at the time and they came and she was from
00:56:54
England so then they met her and then we got VIP tickets a group of us from the WACA. We went backstage with Mick Jagger
00:57:02
and I'll never forget he had like one shoe off like he was barefoot and the other
00:57:07
shoe on and had cricket on the there must have been a test match on and they were watching the cricket.
00:57:12
>> What was he up to? >> I don't know. >> [laughter] >> It was so odd and I was just thinking
00:57:17
>> was he in the process of getting getting dressed or >> I mean he must have been we just came in
00:57:21
but he just I just remember his one barefoot watching the cricket and they just were getting ready to go on stage
00:57:28
and then we had really good seats and I just remember thinking for his age, like
00:57:33
that performance was intense, but I thought he was going to pass out cuz there's nothing to him and he was just
00:57:39
up and about the whole performance, but yeah, I that was pretty I didn't probably
00:57:45
appreciate it. Yeah. >> What what sort of Were you like a musical household growing up? Were your parents into music
00:57:51
or did you sort of know who the Rolling Stones were? I mean, everyone knows who they are, but you a fan of the music or
00:57:56
not really? >> I feel like it was wasted on me cuz I I wasn't a massive fan. I thought it was
00:58:01
pretty cool, but like I wasn't a huge fan. My dad played the guitar and he loved
00:58:06
singing and we loved just like around the campfire, the old guitar and Tom was pretty into his music like I remember
00:58:13
Pearl Jam CDs getting smashed on road trips, but I loved music, but I yeah, I felt like everyone was like, "What?" And
00:58:20
we got drumsticks signed by Charlie Sheen. >> WHICH ONE? >> [laughter] >> YEAH, I'M A HUGE FAN.
00:58:27
>> Charlie Charlie what's Wow. >> Yeah, yeah. >> Really? Where is that Is that in the
00:58:30
special box of memorabilia? >> kept them cuz Tom was like, "They're They're worth something." So
00:58:34
>> Yeah, and he's passed away now. When when this is very crass, but when these celebrities die, the memorabilia that
00:58:40
goes that goes up a lot in value. Not that you're worried about money these days.
00:58:43
>> [laughter] >> So let's So no no photo of Mick Jagger? >> No, cuz it was We were Oh, we might have
00:58:50
got a group photo. We were with the um the Western Cricket Association. There was like a group of
00:58:56
us, so Justin Langer was the head coach at the time, so he was there. Um and we sort of just got shown around
00:59:03
backstage and I just kind of was there for the ride, but yeah. >> Susie, these stories are incredible.
00:59:08
>> [laughter] >> I know. >> Unbelievable. >> nice to sit and just, you know, talk
00:59:13
about them cuz you don't go, "Hey, guess what? I met Mick Jagger." Do you? Cuz you
00:59:17
>> [laughter] >> Yeah, well, I wouldn't have even known this unless I went real deep on your on
00:59:21
your early Instagram stuff. But it's it's amazing. Like there's never going to be another It's hard to imagine
00:59:26
there's going to be another band ever like the Rolling Stones. Like the fact that they're still filling out arenas
00:59:29
and stadiums and they've been together like I think Mick Jagger just recently turned 80.
00:59:33
>> Oh, yeah, they were incredible for their age like yeah, it was inspiring stuff.
00:59:38
>> Sure, and you you would have been frothing more had you met Eddie Vedder or someone.
00:59:42
>> Yeah, [laughter] probably. >> Unbelievable. Oh god, face palm. It's unbelievable. Um
00:59:48
>> Next time it happens I'll just I'll get get you the invite. >> Just Just at least do yourself a favor
00:59:52
and get a photo. Um okay, any other celebrities I need to know about? >> [sighs and gasps]
00:59:57
>> No, they I think they're at the top of the tree. >> But I'm guessing every cricketer in the
01:00:01
game. Um like who are you really tight with or who Who have you got that's like a
01:00:05
mentor? Are there any mentors that you've got? Or is there Is there anyone like um say
01:00:11
like a if if if if you know, if you're batting poorly or something happens does like Brendon McCullum text you and say,
01:00:16
"Hey, I've been watching you." >> he did though. >> Oh, really? >> Uh Yeah, no, like not really from the men's
01:00:23
game, but I've just had coaches over the years. Um So, Craig [ __ ] at the moment is the
01:00:30
Otago women's coach and so he's kept in touch and like he's really [clears throat] supportive. Uh Warren
01:00:36
Lees, who used to coach >> Oh, yeah, yeah. >> Um now sort of retired in Clyde, but
01:00:41
I'll ring him every now and then and he just makes me laugh really, but he coached Otago for 5 years, coached the
01:00:47
White Ferns for one tournament and I just really enjoyed his philosophy. So, he's been a bit of a
01:00:53
I guess just someone to chew the fat over, especially when I was captain and like struggled with some of that stuff
01:01:00
just to talk to a voice that was outside of the group. Um Mike Shrimpton probably had the biggest
01:01:05
influence on my batting, but he passed away sadly probably 2014 just when I'd done a lot
01:01:13
of work with him for my batting, but like he just got the mental side of the game and you could talk to him about
01:01:19
anything. So, he was a huge influence and yeah, are probably the people that I go
01:01:25
to other than my family and um, you know, there's people in the cricket team that you
01:01:32
you talk to like um yeah, like Amy Satterthwaite was around Katie Madden. So, I feel like I've
01:01:38
always had people around that you can talk to about anything which is really important when you're away from your
01:01:43
family and friends for so long. You need those people. And it's not everyone, but
01:01:46
there's people that you're closer to. >> Yeah, um yeah, let's talk about Amy Amy
01:01:51
Satterthwaite. Say >> That was pretty good. It's like >> [laughter] >> It's Satterthwaite.
01:01:56
>> Uh Branchy, you call her Branchy. Branchy. Yeah, there's um I was talking your Instagram. There's a
01:02:01
a post that you wrote to her maybe about a year ago. Um after she missed out on selection. It's
01:02:07
a heartbreaking post by the way. It's like a It's It's a beautiful tribute, but it's um it's a really hard read. So,
01:02:12
she just wasn't selected for the team. >> Yeah, we after the home World Cup, the
01:02:19
expectation was that we'd make the semi-final and we just had some really close games and
01:02:26
we didn't perform I as a senior batting group. And we haven't perhaps nailed that in
01:02:33
the last few World Cups and they made some massive change and Amy and Katie Madden retired
01:02:41
through her own will, but Amy was keen to keep playing and they made that decision for her and
01:02:46
yeah, it was just really hard at the time cuz I felt like we were very similar in terms of our age, our
01:02:52
experience, our contributions to the team and I sort of thought why her and not me. It could have easily been
01:03:00
either of us and yeah, it was kind of a kick up the bum as well to not take your position for
01:03:05
granted which I don't think I ever have, but it was just a reminder and yeah, I just really felt for her because
01:03:12
she desperately wanted to keep playing and someone else made that decision. I know that happens
01:03:17
in sport and it's no one's it's no one's right to keep playing, but yeah, just what she'd done for the game, it was
01:03:23
hard to watch and yeah, we miss her around the group, but um obviously with Leah in the team and
01:03:30
Grace yeah, little girl traveled with us a lot, so we've stayed pretty connected,
01:03:35
but yeah, she's moved on, but I think it's just sad when, you know, it's done that way and probably wasn't the best
01:03:43
way it could have been managed, so you feel for you feel for her and you just hope that you get the choice, but you
01:03:49
may not. >> [laughter] >> Well, that's that's the thing. You you only go out two ways, eh, and I suppose
01:03:53
that's the thing knowing when to when to pull the pin and you love it so much that you don't want to pull the pull the
01:03:58
pin out unnecessarily early, but yeah, yeah, that's a tough one. Yeah, I mean, everyone would want to go out on their
01:04:05
own terms, I guess, eh? >> Yeah, and very few athletes, I think in cricket, get that opportunity, so
01:04:13
I think that's accepting that and having it as a realization, but yeah, I have to think
01:04:19
about that constantly, like when is when is the right time because this is it's hard when like this was your dream and
01:04:26
this is all I've wanted to do, whether it was cricket or not, be an athlete. Now I'm living my dream, you're
01:04:32
financially rewarded, so it's sort of yeah, not hanging in too long. You want to make sure you're still contributing
01:04:39
um but maybe sometimes you need someone to tap you on the shoulder, maybe you just
01:04:43
need >> Come on, mate. I was I was saying you're welcome. >> And you get or you have the opportunity
01:04:48
to go out, but yeah, I don't know. I just know once I'm done, it's forever and that's exciting,
01:04:55
um but I just love it and I you know, some people don't enjoy training anymore or touring. I'm a pretty good tourist
01:05:02
and I love training. It's just that purpose of getting up um and achieving, so yeah, it's there's going to be a void
01:05:08
no matter what, but I'll probably go out running and maybe I'll join you on some
01:05:13
some events. >> Yeah, you you do some runs. I've heard that you're quite keen to do the old
01:05:16
Ghost Ultra at some point. >> I think that looks so cool. I Yeah, I do. Cuz I'm not road running probably
01:05:23
with I've had a few sort of plantar fasciitis and heel issues, but I love the trail running, just being in nature.
01:05:28
So, I do think once I finish, I'm going to enter some sort of race a year out, so gives me that kind of motivation, but
01:05:36
we'll see what that is. But, maybe I'll Ghost is a bit far first up. >> I fancy Yeah, what is it? 89 Ks? 89 Ks,
01:05:42
I think. Um I I What What What whatever happens next, I I I I've got no doubt that you'll be sweet. Like, um yeah,
01:05:49
some of the people I've interviewed on this podcast, it's like um the sports side of things ends, but
01:05:54
it's whatever you do next, you're going to be [ __ ] good at. Cuz it's like these transferable skills. You know,
01:05:59
your your discipline and your work ethic and the growth mindset you've got. So, whatever you do, you're going to be
01:06:04
amazing at. May not be on the same sort of stage, but you're going to be you're going to be good cuz it's just how you
01:06:09
are as a person. I think that's exciting, too. >> Yeah, and it is, and you kind of don't
01:06:14
know until you stop cuz this takes up so much of your time, but um I think it's a
01:06:19
really nice place to be in cuz I've kind of accepted all of that and know >> You're at peace.
01:06:23
>> Yeah, I'm at peace with what I've achieved and what I've done, and I know it'll end, and like I've just loved
01:06:32
Honestly, like I've loved all aspects of it. Like, I've loved the hard times, which sounds so silly, but I think the
01:06:39
good times have just been so much better cuz there's been some struggles and that
01:06:43
you feel like even back in the day you felt like women's sport just wasn't appreciated or
01:06:50
you know, what you did wasn't valued, and now it is, and that's a really cool feeling.
01:06:55
>> Yeah, yeah. Well, um so, Kendra Cocksedge, I I had on the podcast after the uh the Women's World Cup last year.
01:07:01
Um she was saying in the early days like they had hand-me-down jerseys and were flying economy class everywhere. And so,
01:07:07
she's probably in a different sport but similar situation to you. We uh she's got the privilege of, you know, going
01:07:12
through those bleak years and having some enjoyable years at the end. >> Yeah, and it's it's just the feeling of
01:07:20
I did it was kind of like no one really took notice or cared is that's a strong word, but um
01:07:28
and then it was kind of like there was a phase where I reckon people pretended to
01:07:32
care and tried really hard to invest and care. And then it was like the genuine care and passion and like understanding
01:07:40
that and it's not just in cricket. We've watched it unfold in all female sports where
01:07:45
they saw, you know, they've seen on the same level as their male counterparts and
01:07:51
like it's genuine and that's what's really cool watching the Football World Cup at home like that first game gave me
01:07:57
goosebumps and every time I see packed out stadiums for female sport, I just like makes me so happy.
01:08:03
>> Yeah. Oh, no, it's it's it's amazing. Um and the the next a friend of mine has
01:08:07
got a 9-year-old son called Benjamin and he sometimes he'll get out of bed in the
01:08:12
middle of the night and she'll be like, "What's the noise?" And he'll be in the TV watching whatever whatever cricket's
01:08:17
on TV, women's, men's, whatever. Yeah, some obscure like Indian league thing in the middle of the night and he'll be
01:08:23
watch watching the games and it's like, "Yeah, you guys are you guys are heroes now." So Ella, who did when you were
01:08:28
growing up with your brothers, who did who were you? Who were you pretending to be? Were you like um
01:08:33
like I don't know, Chris Cairns and Nathan Astle Mark probably not Mark Richardson. No one was pretending to be
01:08:38
Mark Richardson. >> No, um >> Were you one of the boys or one of the girls? >> No, it was one of That's the thing is
01:08:44
they were as cool though. They played the 2000 World Cup which New Zealand won on TV. And I had watched boys and I was
01:08:54
like, "Nathan Astle so cool." But you kind of didn't It's not like you want you couldn't be them. So you didn't
01:09:00
think about that. You didn't have aspirations to play for New Zealand. And it wasn't until I saw the White Ferns, I
01:09:04
was like, "Cool. Like, I want to be a White Fern." And that's what is so cool now is like young girls can be and boys
01:09:13
can be anything they want to be cuz it's in their face and it's like the norm. So, it's not like women's sport or men's
01:09:20
sport or women's cricket, men's cricket. It's just cricket and they >> 100% >> A boy could their favorite player could
01:09:25
be Sophie Devine. They could be Kane Williamson. It could be me. It could and like they don't If a girl was playing in
01:09:33
their cricket team, you know, it was a bit in my day. It was like, "You're a girl." Whereas now, it's just
01:09:38
like the norm and that's They don't know any different, which is really cool. >> Yeah, I I think it's fantastic. And
01:09:44
how's how's your mental health been over the years? I mean, it's a it's a a tough
01:09:47
sport. I mean, you said before like it's a mentally a big thing. You Has your mental health been good? I mentioned
01:09:52
Sophie's been on the podcast and I'm guessing you were sort of with her in the squad at that time where she had
01:09:57
like a horrendous breakdown. Has yours been good? >> Yeah, like I feel like everyone's got a
01:10:04
spectrum of >> Mhm. >> mental health and obviously Sophie and Melie have had real battles and they've been really
01:10:12
open about it, which I think has really helped players in our environment and they've talked about it. Um
01:10:19
Yeah, I feel like with my mental health, there's been times when it's been low on the
01:10:25
spectrum, there's times when it's up here and I've always felt like I've had really
01:10:31
good support and strategies in knowing what to do when I'm here. I've never felt like I haven't been able
01:10:38
to take care of myself. So, I've never been at that end where some people have. Um
01:10:45
Yeah, I kind of I guess I just know what I need to do to stay positive, to look after myself,
01:10:52
and a lot of that is exercise when I'm away, eating well, connecting. And I've never been at that point where
01:10:58
I can't do that. Um I had a real struggle. I think it was 2014. I I was really stressed about a lot of
01:11:12
things going on at the time and my body just sort of shut down on me and I just remember waking up and I had pins
01:11:21
and needles in my feet and was about to play a cricket game and I said to physio, both my feet have pins
01:11:28
and needles. And I was like drinking a lot of the time and I was a little bit homesick and
01:11:33
I had a few things I was dealing with and then played that game and then the next day the pins and needles were like
01:11:39
up my legs and I was like this is not all good. And flew home and went to physio and she
01:11:45
was like you need to go to the doctor. And then I sort of like numb down and I was I don't know, I was just there was a
01:11:52
lot going on like in a turmoil and I was just stressed. >> What What brought it on? Was it cricket
01:11:58
based or not? >> It was a little bit of cricket. It was just you know that age where you're just
01:12:02
so I was just uncertain about everything like I was kind of probably mid-20s where I wasn't sure cricket wasn't
01:12:09
really a career so I was like what am I going to do? I was always away from home and I sort
01:12:13
of following it felt like I was following this pointless dream because I wasn't really earning
01:12:21
>> Mhm. >> And I sort of was just worried about everything. I was worried about my
01:12:25
future, um relationships, just there was a lot going on and yeah, then I went to the hospital and had a scan and I was
01:12:34
actually diagnosed with mild MS and that was probably like the hardest thing cuz I
01:12:42
couldn't feel my legs. I remember going for a run the next day and like I couldn't I could had sensation but I
01:12:48
didn't have full sensation and I went to run and I just burst into tears cuz I was like, where have my legs gone? And
01:12:56
like what I did was physical and my coach Warren was at the time, we had a game for Tiger and he was like, just
01:13:03
come because with MS, you don't know like the symptoms are there, you don't know if
01:13:08
they're going to >> So that's multiple sclerosis. What what does that mean exactly?
01:13:11
>> Well, I've I've got multiple sclerosis and I had a relapse um which I believe was brought on by
01:13:21
stress and I've obviously got the gene where I'm susceptible to it and I had a relapse which caused um feeling
01:13:30
sensation gone and then I took about a ster- steroids and then got put on a medication for the rest of my life
01:13:37
pretty much and that thankfully, that better steroids got rid of those that relapse and this medication
01:13:44
has controlled the symptoms and but I do think it's a lot of down to physically and mentally looking after
01:13:53
myself and I think had I not potentially had that episode, my mental health wasn't in a great place but I learned
01:13:59
physically and mentally what I needed to stay healthy and yeah, that was just an appreciation of
01:14:09
your body. I don't know. Well, I was at a young age where I was invincible and I've always been able to do whatever I
01:14:13
liked but that was like, wow, if you don't look after yourself, you're not going to be able to
01:14:18
do this. Um >> Yeah, but does it flare up now or no? >> No, I've been so lucky. This medication
01:14:25
um yeah, it keeps it under control and yeah, there's probably certain things that may flare it up and I may never
01:14:33
have a relapse again with or without the medication. There's so many unknowns. I think that's the
01:14:38
hardest thing about it and there's so many different levels of symptoms. Um but it yeah, initially I
01:14:45
everything I did was affecting me year, I'm so much more relaxed as like I live with it and
01:14:50
um it hasn't affected my career. >> Yeah, you just find a way to like coexist with it.
01:14:55
>> Yeah. >> Yeah. I You one thing I've I've got from this podcast journey so far is you
01:14:59
realize like everyone Everyone at some point is going to deal with some adversity. Like it's just part of being
01:15:05
a a [ __ ] human. Um and there was another story I heard about you. You You had a coach. I don't
01:15:10
know how old you were, but um you got told that you had the skill, but not the fitness.
01:15:14
When was this? Was this younger? >> Yep, that was a >> Like teens? 20s? >> I reckon I was 15 or 16.
01:15:20
>> Right. >> And >> What does that mean exactly? >> Well >> basically a nice way of saying you're
01:15:26
you're carrying too much weight or >> Well, that's how I took it. Um I To be fair, like on reflection with um
01:15:33
maturity I I'd broken my collarbone and I had literally sat on the couch and put on
01:15:40
weight. So then I would just went You know that mom felt sorry for me, so she was feeding me like, "Oh, I have this
01:15:45
cake. I'm so sad that you've got a [ __ ] collarbone." [laughter] And then I >> Yeah, not like you could walk to the
01:15:53
kitchen yourself and prepare a healthy snack. >> Exactly. And I what the football World
01:15:56
Cup was on and I just sat in this lazy boy and watched the men's football World Cup, whatever year it was. Um
01:16:01
and then went to a under 18 New Zealand trial and the guy afterwards was like, "Do you want the good news or the bad
01:16:08
news? The good news is um your skills are your skills are up there. They're good enough, but you're
01:16:15
not fit enough to play international basketball." And I just remember going to mom and I
01:16:21
was like, "Oh, I said I'm fat." And I >> [laughter] >> Paraphrasing. >> Just going to play cricket and I for 2
01:16:26
weeks sulked. Um >> [snorts] >> and then I decided cuz I'd played sport, but I hadn't consciously done fitness. I
01:16:33
just played sport and been active. And that was like when I saw a trainer at the Moana Pool gym and learned to train
01:16:40
outside of my sport. And it probably caused maybe a slight addiction to exercise because that
01:16:47
was always when I was making teams, I'm going to prove that I'm fit enough. So, it became almost a little bit
01:16:55
>> You like hyper fixate on >> Yeah, like I like that's a box that I can control.
01:17:00
I'm going to be fit and sometimes I'd overdo it and sort of get the balance wrong, but it
01:17:05
at that level fitness and to be able to play two sports, it was important. It was just later on.
01:17:11
I probably got the intensity and um just resting and recovery as well was just as important.
01:17:18
>> So, so a slap in the face like that, I mean it at 15 you're not overly mature
01:17:23
anyway. Um but like how long how long are you sulking about it for or you know, how long does it take before you go,
01:17:30
"Right, well, [ __ ] you. I'm going to I'm going to prove you wrong." and bounce
01:17:34
back from that? >> A week and two weeks I was quitting and playing cricket. I've got cricket like I
01:17:39
don't need to be that fit. >> For like >> Yeah, yeah, but Shane Warne just isn't
01:17:42
that fit. I can be as [laughter] fat as I want. >> Um no, they've never said I need to be
01:17:45
fitter. Um and then after that I realized I wanted to play basketball and like perhaps they had a point.
01:17:51
[laughter] Um but then I reckon playing basketball it was there the whole time of my
01:17:58
international career that I needed to prove my fitness. So, that was through like beep tests. It
01:18:02
was always like a determination to be in the top sort of tier and I probably hung on it for like far too
01:18:10
long, but I don't know. Sometimes when you have the bit between your teeth and you want to prove people wrong, it's not
01:18:15
the most healthy mindset, but I think it also drives you. >> Oh, no. I I I [laughter] I I love it. I I love
01:18:21
using haters as my motivators because people that want to see you then I not not that he did, but people that want to
01:18:27
see you fail, it's like flipping them the bird and saying [ __ ] you by doing well, but also it's good for yourself to
01:18:32
do well. >> And believe like telling when people tell you can't do something, it's like
01:18:35
actually I believe I can and that's quite powerful without having to flip the bird sometimes.
01:18:41
>> Yeah, absolutely. Um this this might be a a personal question. You can tell me
01:18:45
to pass off if you don't want to answer this, but do you do you do you like want
01:18:48
to have a family down the track? Do you hope to have kids? >> Yeah, it's I go through moments. Um
01:18:57
my oldest brother didn't have a kid until he was in his 40s. And so my two brothers have got sort of
01:19:05
18-month-old boys. And so my parents are in their 70s and had to wait a long time. So it wasn't just me. I
01:19:12
know poor mom, she was I think she was desperate, but finally now it's all happening at once. My younger sister
01:19:19
Olivia has just had her first actually when I was on the flight over here, she came early. So Marley, Louie, and Porter
01:19:25
and it's hard to imagine with what I do and it being sort of such a selfish pursuit
01:19:33
and relationship-wise it's even difficult. Um I can't quite see it, but then there's
01:19:40
part of me now that my family said kids, especially my sister, that I'm not putting out of the question, but
01:19:46
I I'm sort of 50/50. I feel like I'd be a great mom and I'd love it. >> Yeah, you
01:19:52
>> But yeah. >> You're at you're at peace though if um if it doesn't happen. Are you Are you
01:19:56
Are you in a relationship? >> Uh not currently, but I've had some long-term relationships that have sort
01:20:02
of through COVID as well um were a bit challenging, um but currently yeah, no. Um
01:20:11
>> So yeah, I I mean I don't know how you could make that work. Like how how how
01:20:15
many months of the year are you on the road this year? >> Um well, I'm here and then this finishes
01:20:21
and I go from here to Barbados. So it's not a tough life really. >> [laughter] >> To play in the Caribbean League for a
01:20:28
couple of weeks and then I do get home for 5 days and then we go to South Africa's White Ferns and we go straight
01:20:36
from South Africa to Sydney. So, that's until December. So, from now until December we get like four or five nights
01:20:43
at home. So, and I kind of make that choice like I don't expect someone to accept
01:20:50
that. You know, like there's um there's been people but like I choose to keep doing this and
01:20:55
>> Yeah. >> I sort of don't expect them to make that sacrifice. So, at peace with it and I
01:21:01
know there'll be a time when I'm not doing this but um my family like are good at traveling around and I'm seeing
01:21:07
them and yeah, I like there's a lot of same-sex relationships in cricket but I do
01:21:13
believe that's part of it because you're away so much. It's really hard to >> form relationships.
01:21:18
>> in the environment they're there. Um and you know, it's only starting to change
01:21:21
now where players are earning enough to perhaps fly their partners over whereas in the
01:21:26
men's game they've been earning money and their other half could potentially not work. So, they could travel with
01:21:32
them. So, there's just those dynamics that are starting to shift that I think it will be easier to
01:21:37
um be able to travel with your partner even when you're on the road so much. >> Yeah. Well, I suppose like every
01:21:43
decision in life comes at comes at some sort of cost, doesn't it? And it's sacrifices.
01:21:47
>> Yeah, and I've always like had a coach and I'll never forget it. He was like when we weren't paid but we were
01:21:54
playing for the White Ferns and he said, "Just remember like this is a choice, not a sacrifice." So, like
01:21:59
I don't feel like I've sacrificed life to do this. I've chosen to take this path and I wouldn't have done it
01:22:06
any other way. And that comes with benefits and it comes with missing out on stuff but I've consciously made that
01:22:13
choice and there's consequences to that but like I also wouldn't go back and change any of the
01:22:19
choices I've made. >> Nah, shouldn't I? >> Yeah. >> Shouldn't I? It's been a hell of a life.
01:22:23
Do you do you do you enjoy the like the the travel and the suitcase life? Or does it get a bit tedious? Must get
01:22:28
tedious at times. >> Yeah, you you you get used to it and like probably in a bad way sometimes when
01:22:35
I've lived this lifestyle, I get to Dunedin and I'm there for a week. >> [laughter]
01:22:40
>> It feels like a year. >> 5:00 I'm like What am I going to do? I like cook dinner and go to [clears throat] bed.
01:22:47
I'm like, oh wow, this is mundane. But then I sort of get back into that rhythm and I'm like, oh this is nice. So
01:22:53
that's probably a reflection of how I have lived. Um Yeah, you you miss your people. Like
01:23:00
even in this environment, I'm lucky to have some Kiwis here, but they're not your people and I think there will be a
01:23:06
point where that outweighs the touring life where I just want to be around my people more.
01:23:11
>> Mm. And what what are you Have you thought about what you want to do afterwards? Like do you still want to be
01:23:16
involved in the game like in commentary or coaching or anything or something completely different? As I said before,
01:23:21
like I reckon with like transferable skills, like whatever you do, you'll be [ __ ] great at.
01:23:27
It's good and and and and and another thing like so when what are you 35? >> Yes.
01:23:31
>> So I'm I'm 50 now. When I was 35 Yeah, yeah, yeah. Oh, come on. >> No, you're you're doing good.
01:23:37
>> When when I was 35, I thought like 50 life was over. And then you get there and it's like I went out for a 20k run
01:23:44
today. I've got to stretch a lot more afterwards cuz my knees aren't what they used to be, but it's like it's exciting
01:23:49
when you get there and you realize there's still a lot of life left to live. So all the stuff that you've done over the
01:23:54
last like 20 years in cricket, you could do that again with something else, something completely different. And it's
01:23:59
[ __ ] exciting. Have you Have you Have you put much thought into that? >> I've put a lot of thought cuz of just
01:24:04
especially since I think Amy and Katie left the game that kind of I've started to I've started to just
01:24:11
prepare for that. Um And part of me, I've done this for so long that you kind of become
01:24:19
institutionalized by cricket and the bubble that you're in and the people. Sometimes that's the only people you see
01:24:25
and I also love talking and meeting other people. So, part of me wants to remove myself a little bit, but I feel
01:24:35
like there's so much I have to give to the game. Um and maybe that's a bit further down
01:24:40
the track, but I've made sure like I'm doing my level three coaching course so I can coach. I've done some commentary
01:24:47
at home and actually the BBC gave me an opportunity yesterday which was really cool. I just think the more you do that
01:24:53
sort of stuff, um the better you get. So, >> Was that your first time with the doing the commentary stuff, the stuff
01:24:59
with the BBC? >> I've done some with Sparks but when I was injured, um and then that I've done
01:25:04
like the odd bits and pieces, but that was sort of thrown into it and um I enjoy talking about the game and
01:25:11
especially when it's the women's game. So, I sort of feel there's an avenue for that. Like why not
01:25:16
do it um when there's so much going on. Uh but there's also a part of me that is excited about doing
01:25:24
something completely different and I still think it'll be in the health sport women's sport area, um but not
01:25:31
necessarily cricket. >> Mhm. So, definitely not um phys ed or nutrition. That bloody six-year degree.
01:25:39
>> Well, no. Um yeah, probably not. >> [laughter] >> Well, what do you Whatever it is, it's
01:25:45
it's bloody exciting. Um thanks so much for meeting me today for this podcast. It's been really cool.
01:25:51
>> Yeah, we just chatted. It's been fun. Oh, sorry I was late again. Oh, um >> Ah, but it's only 30 minutes late.
01:25:57
>> [laughter] >> Uh thanks for having me. >> No, I I was actually I was when when you
01:26:01
said, "Oh, I've had a mare with the public transport." And you even called yourself um
01:26:05
What was it? Tina Tourist? Tina Tourist in the message which it which it I I loved. I'm exactly the
01:26:10
same. I cannot get my I think it's just the way my brain works. Works. I can't get my head around the public transport
01:26:15
system here. Every time I think I've got it, I will end up on the bus going somewhere completely wrong, have to get
01:26:20
out and Uber back to my mate's place. I'm a nightmare. Are you Are you generally pretty good?
01:26:25
>> I am but I thought I was good. That's I've used it a lot and I sort of get my
01:26:29
backpack on and I just love exploring and I >> Dora >> to go here today and I get the tube and
01:26:34
I end up and like go places and I don't actually do anything, but you feel like you've been
01:26:40
out for the day. So today, yeah, just made a few bad decisions which um >> [laughter]
01:26:47
>> Yeah, anyway, I ended up walk uh scootering, uh biking, tubing, and Ubering. I didn't have to do any of that. I could
01:26:56
have just done one of those, but that's, you know. >> It's like a shitty version of The
01:26:59
Amazing Race. >> [laughter] >> But you you made it here in the end. Oh, you Where do Where do you think you'll
01:27:03
settle down, Dunedin? Do you think you'll always be as you Cuz you you your brother Does he still
01:27:08
Does he still work at Snapchat or he worked at Snapchat for a while? >> Yep, he lives in LA and works at
01:27:12
Snapchat. >> think you'll be in Dunedin? >> Um part of me, like I said to you when I
01:27:17
get to Dunedin, I love it cuz it's my family and where my friends are. But I feel like
01:27:24
yeah, maybe a bigger city when I'm stopped playing. It's nice now cuz I go home, I
01:27:29
sort of switch off, see my family, and I leave. But I think when I'm there permanently, maybe
01:27:35
yeah, somewhere like Wellington or Auckland might be more appealing. >> Mhm. >> Yeah, I don't have to think about that
01:27:41
just yet. I don't Cuz like I can pay my cheaper mortgage in Dunedin and travel. [laughter]
01:27:46
>> Jeez, with every one of these tournaments, you could just about buy a brand new house in Dunedin.
01:27:50
>> Oh, yeah, I got to stop spending my money. No, I'm trying I am being smarter with it, but yeah, there's there's
01:27:56
hopefully a couple more years of earning in the game and then we'll see what happens.
01:27:59
>> Oh, for sure. Yeah, who who is the oldest oldest player to play at the top level? Did he make it to 40?
01:28:06
>> There's a lot of males that have made it to 40. Jimmy Anderson, um a lot of county cricketers over here.
01:28:12
Um I reckon Mithali Raj and Jhulan Goswami, two of India's greats, and they've just
01:28:17
retired in the last sort of 2 years. They were close to 37, 38. I don't think many have made it to 40. I don't really
01:28:24
plan on making it to 40. Yeah, it's just a balance that we've got a 2020 World Cup next year, and then
01:28:31
there's a 50-over World Cup the year after, and and those are two things in the back of my mind, and you
01:28:37
can't plan too much, but I know they're there, and if I'm contributing, we'll see how it goes. But
01:28:44
after that 50-over World Cup, um yeah, there's sort of a bit of a break, and you know, there's younger players
01:28:51
coming through, so we'll see what happens. That's kind of it's in India, and I think it would be
01:28:56
really cool to be a part of, but I also know you don't always control that, and I try not to plan too far ahead. I just
01:29:02
got this game on Saturday, and then Caribbean League, which will be fun. >> Yeah, well, good luck for the game on
01:29:08
Saturday. Hopefully, I hope the the form returns. >> Yeah, I've been scoring runs just far
01:29:13
too slowly. >> Yeah. >> [laughter] >> It's either get out or get on with it as my motto for Saturday.
01:29:19
>> Yeah, oh, Suzie Bates, one of the greatest of all time. Thank you so much for coming on the
01:29:24
podcast and meeting me at the studio in Notting Hill, and all the best for whatever the future brings. As I've As
01:29:29
[music] I've said numerous times in this chat, I'm sure it's going to be epic. >> Thanks, Dom.
01:29:40
>> [music]