Celebrating New Zealand’s three special world-champion ‘grandmas’

T20 World Cup Final: Match Centre and Scorecard

New Zealand captain Devine had described the trio as “three grandmas”, and it was the veterans who triumphed in Dubai on Sunday, as the White Ferns beat South Africa in the final of the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2024.

For Bates and Devine, this was third time lucky, with the long-serving pair both having played in their country’s previous two appearances in Women’s T20 World Cup finals… way back in 2009 and 2010.

Those defeats at Lord’s and in Bridgetown threatened to be the closest the pair came to World Cup glory, but Dubai 2024 has proved a fitting finale for two of the game’s greats.

Bates, who had bowled the crucial final over against West Indies in the semi-final, was at her belligerent best with the bat in the first innings against South Africa.

It was Bates who got the ball rolling for her team in the final, showing her class on the day when she surpassed Mithali Raj as the most capped player in the history of women’s international cricket.

Her 32 from 31 deliveries gave the White Ferns the perfect platform on which to build, which her teammates duly did to reach a winning total of 158/5.

“It's just outstanding, and just speaks to the volume of who Suze is as a player,” Devine said of her teammate. “She's now the most capped player in the history of the game on the woman's side, and it's unbelievable to think that she can go out there and play with such aggression and such fearlessness.

“I think it set the tone for the rest of the batting lineup. I think everyone knows how special I find Suze and what she's been able to achieve. So, I’m just so stoked for her that we're able to lift it for her.”

Devine captained her side with aplomb throughout the tournament, even lightening the mood just moments before the final began by telling some jokes to relieve some tension – jokes that she later said “she wasn’t sure she could repeat”.

And while her own individual contribution with the bat in the final (6) was not her best, it was her simply brilliant 57* from 36 balls right back at the start of the tournament against India that had got her team off to the perfect start in their winning campaign.

“I started to dream last night about what it would feel like to hold the trophy with this team, but I didn't want to get to ahead of us.

“The great thing about this group is we know what we have been trying to achieve in the last 15, 18, 24 months. We kept taking steps in right directions. You want momentum and we came to the World Cup on the back of 10 successive losses… but everyone starts on zero.”

The 34-year-old Tahuhu often flies under the radar compared to her two experienced teammates, but bowled tidily in the final once again, and has now moved up to 93 career wickets in T20 Internationals, second only to Devine for New Zealand and up with some of the legendary names of the sport.

“I've spoken about it at length before, Lea's the sort of person that you want in your team, because you know that she's going to get in the fight, she's going to compete and scrap for you, and I knew if I threw her the ball, that she's going to make something happen. And she did just that.

“It's not always the person that takes the wickets or the catches. It's the work that goes on behind it, the teamwork. It's sort of working hard for your mate out in the middle there. And Leah was fantastic today, and helped change the outcome of the game I thought.”