16 Aug 2017

Bates hits out in English T20

7:07 am on 16 August 2017

The White Ferns captain Suzie Bates has hit a century to help her Southern Vipers side to victory in their second game of the English women's T20 cricket competition.

Suzie Bates celebrates scoring a century.

Suzie Bates celebrates scoring a century against Australia in 2013. Photo: Photosport

Bates hit an unbeaten 119 as champions Southern Vipers thumped Loughborough Lightning by 46 runs in Derby to make it two wins from two in defence of their Kia Super League title.

The 29-year-old New Zealand captain hit 15 fours and four sixes as Lightning paid a heavy price for Australian star Ellyse Perry's dropped catch when Bates was on 39.

For good measure, Bates took three wickets with her medium pace and held a brilliant catch on the boundary as Lightning were bowled out for 134.

The innings is among the highest in women's Twenty20 cricket at the highest level.

Australian Meg Lanning's 126 against Pakistan in 2014 is the highest individual score in international T20s, while the biggest so far in Australia's Women's Big Bash is New Zealander Sophie Devine's 103 not out for Strikers Women against Hurricanes Women.

Bates scored an unbeaten 47 in the Southern Vipers opening win over the Western Storm.