Miss Suzie Bates, of Auckland, ONZM for services to cricket and basketball
Miss Suzie Bates (Ngāi Tahu) is one of the greatest players in the White Ferns’ history, captaining the team from 2011 to 2018, becoming New Zealand’s leading women’s run-scorer in ODIs, and currently holding the record of the most T20I runs by any woman. She became the most-capped woman in international cricket during 2024/2025, after 350 international appearances. She has been ICC Women’s ODI and T20I Cricketer of the Year, Wisden Leading Woman Cricketer, and was Player of the Tournament at the 2013 Women’s Cricket World Cup. Miss Bates also represented New Zealand in basketball at the Beijing Olympics. She is a Sport New Zealand ‘Balance is Better’ Champion, supports leadership initiatives for teenage girls through cricket in Otago, and participates in the New Zealand Olympic Committee Schools Outreach Ambassador Programme.