White Ferns great Suzie Bates is determined to go out on a performance the team can be proud of.
The White Ferns play England in their final T20 World Cup round-robin match early tomorrow morning (NZ time).
Their prospects of making the semifinals are about on par with David Seymour suddenly confessing he is a socialist.
The White Ferns have been poor during the tournament.
Their fielding has been horrific.
They have struggled to bat the way they had hoped or take a whole bunch of wickets.
But they can still slip into the playoffs if the winless Ireland upset the West Indies and the White Ferns beat England, who are unbeaten in group 2 and have home advantage at The Oval.
Chances are it will be the last game for Bates, Lea Tahuhu and Sophie Devine, who will retire from international cricket at the conclusion of the tournament.
If it is to be Bates’ last game — and there is no guarantee she will be selected for the starting XI — then she wants to go out swinging.
‘‘I just want this team to play the brand that I know we are capable of,’’ she said.
‘‘We’ve talked about attacking — attacking with the bat, attacking with the ball and in the field as well.
‘‘That is what I want this team to do, regardless of what the repercussions might be for qualifying.
‘‘I just want to play that brand of cricket with a smile on our faces, but with that real competitive edge which I know Sophie and Lea have.’’
Bates and Devine have enjoyed 20-year careers in the White Ferns, while Tahuhu has clocked 15.
The trio has been the spine of the team and will leave an enormous experience gap.
Bates is focused on enjoying every last moment and has been forcing down the emotion that tends to bubble up when you leave a chapter of your life behind.
‘‘That is tough when you are in world cups because there are ups and downs, but it is going to be interesting when that emotion does come out,’’ she said, adding she hoped the tears happened in the dressing room and ‘‘not out in public’’.
If the White Ferns are knocked out of the tournament tomorrow, then there are worse places to play your final game.
‘‘When I was thinking about when I was going to be finishing up and looking at the calendar, this was definitely on the cards of a place I wanted to be.
‘‘To get one more opportunity — you never know, maybe a couple more — it is just really exciting.’’
