“Injuries are part of it, and I have had a few,” said Bella James, the New Zealand top-order batter, with a laugh as she shared her thoughts on navigating through pain and agony in her career. That laugh also helps gauge her temperament. Here’s a cricketer who seems to take debilitating injuries in her stride and adhere to the idiom – Try until again until you succeed.
“I had two meniscus injuries, I hurt my knee when I was 17-18, I had a surgery on it,” she told Revsportz. “I hurt my left knee a few years later when I was 20. So, I had surgery on that. That was the time when I started to take off a little bit, that pushed me back. Recently, the summer went really well, and I got named in the one-day and T20 squads to play Sri Lanka. That would have been more opportunities. A week before the domestic final, I pulled my quad. So, that put me out of the Sri Lanka series, which was pretty gutting.
“I worked really hard to come back and make my debut against Australia. Even before going to England (for the A series), I had another knee injury on my meniscus. I am very lucky with New Zealand cricket, the support has been amazing, for the strength and conditioning coaches to be able to get me on the park.”
Every time someone asked: ‘What more have you got?’ James answered with runs. Those 332 runs that she accumulated in New Zealand’s domestic List-A competition in the 2024-25 season, which included an unbeaten 101 against the likes of Leigh Kasperak and Jess Kerr, paved the way for her to earn the national cap. James also made useful contributions in that ODI series against Australia, scoring 51 runs over two games.
“It was pretty surreal, really,” she said. “My ODI (debut) came on the back of a couple of months of domestic cricket going quite well and getting some runs. And that being acknowledged and given the opportunity was massive. You’re always chasing, and you never know when that phone call will happen. And when it did, it was a proud moment for me.
“To play alongside Suzie in the national colours was even more of a treat. I think, for me, it was still the same. Knowing Suzie was at the other end kind of gave me that comfort and normality. Playing for Sparks with her for 10 years, it was just a different coloured T-shirt, that is how I went about it.”
The rewards kept coming her way. She was included in New Zealand Women’s 17-member central contract list, and that was followed by a tour to England with the New Zealand A side. With the World Cup in India and Sri Lanka on the horizon, she is also a part of an ongoing camp in Chennai.
The camp, organised by CSK Academy’s head coach, Sriram Krishnamurthy, could turn out to be helpful to some of New Zealand’s emerging cricketers as they try to acclimatise to the different climes in the subcontinent. The camp also comprises Indian internationals – Asha Shobana and D Hemalatha, alongside young prodigy, Gunalan Kamalini.
“Very lucky to come over to Chennai, India, and spend some time with Sri (Sriram Krishnamurthy),” said James. “To experience different conditions all around the world, to be here with him and learn how to play spin, hopefully, it will benefit me in the long run.
“Working on my spin game, but also on the mental side of the game, playing in this sort of heat. Dealing with all sorts of things, being able to concentrate ball by ball when you’re fatigued, hot and sweating. Definitely, playing late is a big one. But the mental side and how you push through will be a big challenge.”
James also spoke about the learnings that she received from the England tour, where she notched up 144 runs in the ‘A’ One-Day series. “It was another good experience in terms of development and growth,” she said. “To go over there and play girls who are competing for England spots. It was a different challenge, learning how to play different bowlers, and to adapt to conditions quite quickly. I think that is the biggest thing with cricket. You can have all the skills and abilities, but being able to adapt to different conditions and the bowlers is a challenge.”
Interestingly, despite making her debut in domestic cricket at the tender age of 15, James didn’t grow up dreaming of playing it professionally. The spark of inspiration to take up the game of willow and leather came on the back of a chance meeting with a New Zealand cricket icon.
“I wasn’t actually a cricketer,” said James. “I grew up as a softball player, soccer and tennis. And then I met Suzie at my local school in Otago. And she kind of introduced me to the game. She got me into it, and then I got to debut for Sparks with her, and then I got to debut for New Zealand, playing with her.
“We played with my family, cousins… during summer holidays, we went camping. I just love exploring the hills. I am from Central Otago, so I am surrounded by mountains and lakes. My passion for cricket didn’t really take off until I was about 13. I played a lot for high school in the national tournaments. During my youth days, when I was 17 years old, we won the national tournament. I had one of those awesome tournaments when everything clicked. Ended up being the top scorer. I was named the player of the year of the national competition.”
At a junior level, James also kept wickets. However, due to persistent injuries, she couldn’t continue with wicket-keeping duties. That hasn’t stopped her from expanding the branches of her game. She is now exploring her spin-bowling talents.
“So, I haven’t done any wicket-keeping since I was 17, that is kind of on the back foot,” she said. “But I have been taking a bit of off-spin over the last 3 years, I have been able to bowl over in the UK when I played some club cricket and county cricket. I guess that is the next development stage for myself, to take on off-spin and become a bit of an all-rounder. But that is just a long-term goal.”
Just zoom in on James’ batting in her professional career and you will notice a cricketer who is strong with horizontal-bat shots. Despite her admirable traits with the bat, and work ethic, she has a long way to go to fulfill her dreams at the highest level. But beneath the smiles and laughter, there seems to be a steely resolve attached to her game. It shouldn’t come as a surprise that James is inspired by the likes of Bates and Kane Williamson, and a certain warrior from another sport – Rafael Nadal.
“While growing up, I loved watching Nadal,” she said. “Watching him, Federer and even Serena Williams. The more I got into cricket, without me realising, I ended up meeting my idol, Suzie. She is the one I kind of looked up to. I think, also in the men’s game, I love watching Kane Williamson and the way he goes about things. And the calm nature.”
James’ final few words in the interview tells you a little more about the rare gift she possesses – Handling success and failure with equanimity. “The World Cup is obviously the pinnacle,” she said. “It is my goal; I would love to be there. I think, for me, it is just controlling what I can control. And doing the things that I need to do well.”