Wynne Gray: Suzie's our best-kept secret

Suzie Bates dominates two forms of cricket but struggles for recognition. Picture / Photosport

Rugby's hold on this country oozed through the Herald in the run-up to last night's awards evening.

Research says we can't get enough of our national sport and that thirst for information, comment and analysis will go to new levels when the Lions visit.

This playing season is done, yet the front page of the Herald, back page and in between carried stories about the game with the headline article about Farah Palmer becoming the first woman elected to the board.

The rising impact of New Zealand female athletes at the Rio Olympics, alongside coverage of their deeds, was a strong theme in NZOC chief executive Kereyn Smith's speech at the nation's sports media evening, where writer Margot Butcher and double international broadcaster Lesley Murdoch were recognised for their enduring work.

Murdoch captained New Zealand at cricket, went to the 1984 Olympics with the hockey side and remains passionate about sport and encouragingly supportive of all grades in her Canterbury region.

She would have been thrilled to see White Ferns cricket captain Suzie Bates take out two international awards and probably a bit baffled about why that recognition only warranted a short paragraph in the paper.

Let's expand a touch, then, on Bates and some of her cricketing achievements this year because they are more palatable than the New Zealand men's cricket side's faltering production in the recent Chappell-Hadlee series.

Remarkably, Bates was overlooked in the list of 12 women, including teammate Amy Satterthwaite, who were nominated for the Halberg Awards.

The success of Rio athletes and others such as Lydia Ko was bound to give them a start but to ignore Bates and include a teammate is skewed judgement.

That's life and Bates won't quibble as she knows how tough it is to peak for an event you get a crack at only once every four years.

She knows about the Olympics after being part of the New Zealand basketball squad at the 2008 tournament in Beijing.

However, she's made her mark in cricket where she captains teams, opens the batting and bowls her medium pacers. Her collection of talent and results earned Bates the double ICC honour of being the first cricketer to win the Player of the Year crowns in one-day international and Twenty20 cricket.

The 29-year-old all-rounder is the key turn in a White Ferns side aiming for success at the World Cup in England next June.

Bates is keeping her game in good nick in the Big Bash across the Ditch and, if she holds her form, New Zealand will be a strong contender at the 11th global tournament.

She averaged a tick over 94 in the judging timeframe for one-day internationals and picked up her wickets at a low economy rate while, in the abbreviated game, Bates led the runs aggregate at an average of almost 43.

That's simply world-class.

Imagine if the country's male counterparts put up those sorts of numbers. That hope went across the Tasman this month and apart from Martin Guptill, Jimmy Neesham and Trent Boult, the offerings were spasmodic.

Maybe Boxing Day and Bangladesh will bring a change in fortune. If not, maybe it's time for Bates to give the team a pep talk and ask when they are going to deliver.