Cricket: Suzie Bates back to her best as White Ferns take down India in first ODI

White Fern Suzie Bates brought up her first century in nearly four years. Photo / Getty

Suzie Bates is back – and just in the nick of time.

Bates hit her first ODI century since 2018 as the White Ferns eased to an impressive 62-run win over India in Queenstown today.

Since smacking 151 against a hopeless Ireland nearly four years ago, it has been a barren spell for Bates at international level, averaging 22.9 in 18 ODI innings with a high score of 57. It hasn't been much better in Twenty20s, where her last international half-century came in 2019.

While her place in the side was never in doubt, due to a mixture of proven class, a lack of top-order challengers and strong domestic form, at 34 years old it was fair to wonder if Bates would ever be taking off her helmet and saluting her teammates again.

So to see her do just that, just weeks before the start of the ODI World Cup, will be a boon for the White Ferns, with Bates' 106 coming off 111 balls as the White Ferns racked up 275, before rolling India for 213.

"A pretty special day – it's really nice to start off a series with a win. Last summer the group was disappointed with how we started, and we just want to make sure we compete every game throughout the series and leading into the World Cup," Bates said.

"I had partnerships all throughout the innings so any time a new batter came in I felt there was no scoreboard pressure which allowed me to just bat. That's the blueprint we want to stick to.

"I'm pretty proud of how the group played."

Bates had support from Amy Satterthwaite, who clipped a valuable 63 off 67 balls, while Amelia Kerr added 33 off 39 batting at No 3.

Although she was dropped early, Bates made the most of her luck to marshal consistent partnerships, the White Ferns reached 50 without loss, 100-1 and 200-2, though they should have made more given they went into the final 10 overs at 220-3; Sophie Devine's talents being particularly wasted by arriving in the 38th over.

However, Bates' innings and a strong start from the bowlers ensured the sloppy finish wouldn't matter. With star opener Smriti Mandhana still in quarantine, India's top order was weakened and Lea Tahuhu and Devine had both openers dismissed within the first six overs.

Yastika Bhatia (41 off 63) and Mithali Raj (59 off 73) provided slow resistance with a 88-run stand for the third wicket but Bhatia holed out to deep square leg before Jess Kerr removed Raj and Harmanpreet Kaur in back-to-back overs, leaving India at 142-5, needing nearly eight runs an over.

With all six bowlers picking up a wicket, India never looked likely, and Kerr returned to finish with 4-36 as the White Ferns started as they hope to continue ahead of the World Cup.