Veteran New Zealand women’s batter Suzie Bates is banking on their pre-tournament preparations in Dubai to help the team adapt quickly to the challenging conditions expected at the upcoming ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup, scheduled to be played in India and Sri Lanka.
After completing their training camp in Chennai, New Zealand arrived in Dubai earlier this week to prepare for the 50-over global event. To acclimatise to the hot and humid conditions of the subcontinent, the New Zealand players are putting in the hard work in Dubai, where the weather is extremely hot.
Dubai is the same city where Bates and her teammates won the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup last year.
“We’ve loved coming back here after almost 12 months,” Bates told ICC Digital. “Reminiscing on those last 12 months and that really special time for a lot of this group.”
While the squad for the ODI World Cup includes a few new faces who weren’t part of last year’s World Cup-winning team, Bates is already thinking about how they might celebrate another potential title.
“There are a few new faces here now, so we’ve joked that if we win this World Cup, maybe we’ll have to come back to Dubai and celebrate,” she said.
The upcoming World Cup will mark Bates’ fifth appearance at the tournament.
Bates first played in the event back in 2009, when it was hosted in Australia.
Sophie Devine’s New Zealand team will kickstart their World Cup campaign against Australia in Indore on October 1.
For More Sports Related News: Follow RevSportz