You're currently in England getting ready to play for Hampshire, walk us through what you've been up to over the past month after wrapping up the kiwi summer?

At the end of the New Zealand cricket season I had a month off from picking up a cricket bat or ball. I spent the Easter in Central Otago with my family and then a couple of quiet weeks in Dunedin catching up with friends and family and getting away from cricket. I still like to keep active on my breaks so although I enjoyed the break from cricket I enjoyed staying active and getting outdoors with a little bit of golf and lots of biking and walking.

Defending champions Southern Vipers demonstrated their credentials for this year's trophy, with a strong 46-run victory over Loughborough Lightning. This is the official channel of the ECB. Watch all the latest videos from the England Cricket Team and England and Wales Cricket Board. Including highlights, interviews, features getting you closer to the England team and county players.

Adelaide Strikers skipper Suzie Bates stole the show in Glenelg, scoring her first WBBL century - and the tournament's second in as many days - against Hobart

T20 cricket has been great for women's cricket and you have featured prominently in WBBL and Kia Women's Super League, you also make an effort to play first class cricket in England. Why do you go above and beyond to take up those opportunities internationally, outside of T20 cricket?

This will be my 3rd season playing the County season in England. The first season was because I had never had the opportunity to play County cricket in England so after playing a season with Charlotte Edwards at the Perth Scorchers she asked if I would be interested and for me it was a new challenge and sounded better than spending a winter training indoors in Dunedin.
Last year I took the opportunity at Hampshire leading into the 50-over World Cup to play some extra one day cricket in the conditions we were going to play in. I have loved both seasons and enjoy playing 50-over cricket especially when we are playing more and more T20. This season I did consider whether or not I would come back but it is Hampshire's first season in division 1 and the White Ferns also tour Ireland and England later this season before the Vipers campaign begins so I signed up for another summer in England. I just love to play, so if my body allows and I am injury free I like to make the most of it while I can.

What have you learned about yourself through playing cricket overseas in various formats?

I think the older you get the more you realise what impact you can have on the younger players around you. There are high expectations on players as overseas players to perform but at the end of the day, you are not going to be able to score runs and take wickets every game so it has highlighted to me how important it is to lead by example on and off the field and bring value to a team in other ways rather than just worrying about performances.

With such a hectic schedule, how do you go about individual training when you have a break from cricket?

When I have a break I try to get away from thinking about cricket as much as possible. That can sometimes be hard because I am always wanting to get better and improve my fitness or skills. So when I do have a small window for a break I try and change it up and stay fit and active by doing different types of training sessions to freshen things up. If I can get some basketball or tennis in that is even better. If I do feel like picking up a bat I make sure I am very specific on what I am working on and don’t just hit balls for the sake of it.

What is something that you need to eat or drink every day?

Definitely coffee, not a day goes by without at least one :)

What have you focused on improving in the past year and how?

I have tried to work hard at my speed and power in the gym. With my batting I have had a real focus on implementing shots into my training and games to have the ability to access 360 degrees of the ground and manipulate the field. With my bowling there has been a focus on developing different types of slower balls and variations.

What advice would you give to a young cricketer?

Firstly always work on a number of skills whether it’s batting, bowling, wicket keeping or fielding always try and work on more than one skill. Secondly if you enjoy other sports, continue to play them if you can. It keeps you fresh and also helps develop your fitness and skill level in different ways and lastly remember to keep it fun on good days and on bad days always focus on the fun you have with your teammates.

Do you have any 'wellness' strategies that help you deal with the pressures, ups and downs of being a professional athlete as well?

Becoming captain of a few of the sides I have played in has meant there has been added pressures and I have had to learn over the years how best to deal with this.

One thing I try and do is to remember to not take myself or the game too seriously. I also know how important it is to get my mind away from cricket and on tour I always try and get outdoors and do exercise away from cricket training. Playing golf or going out for coffee are two of my favourite things to do on a day off as well as keeping my mind occupied by reading. A few of the younger girls are becoming NBA fans so we try to find somewhere to shoot some hoops or watch the NBA if we can.

What is one training drill that you do as often as possible - if you don't do it you feel under prepared?

I love doing one handed drills to always check I am not getting into bad habits. Especially with the amount of T20 cricket we play everyone just wants to get in the nets and hit the ball hard but I find when I lose my shape I don’t hit it any harder. So ticking over top hand drills is always important for me.

Explain the feeling of playing for Otago and what makes the Otago environment different to the other teams you play for around the world?

Otago is home. It is where my cricket began and where I fell in love with the game. There is no other team I can play for in the world that I have that much history with and that I have that much passion and pride for. They are your mates for life and the players who you spend the most time with over the years and learn the most off. It is not professional so everyone there is playing for the love of the game and the joy on the team's face when we have success is second to none.

Thanks for the great banter and fun season Sparkies #sparks4life #teamphoto #queenfoc

760 Likes, 13 Comments - @suziebates on Instagram: "Thanks for the great banter and fun season Sparkies #sparks4life #teamphoto #queenfoc"

Who is the fastest bowler you have faced?

Catherine Fitzpatrick in my first series against Australia.

Who would you like to give thanks to?

I have to thank my Mum and Dad first. When I was an amateur cricketer they supported me and allowed me to train and travel to help support my goals when I wasn’t being paid and earning a living from what I was doing. Without them I wouldn’t have made it to the professional era of women’s cricket.

I also owe a lot of my success to two special coaches who became mentors. Warren Lees my Otago coach for 5 seasons understands what makes me tick more than I do and he knew how to get the best out of me. He also became a great mentor for dealing with the stress and challenges of captaincy and being away from home for long periods of time.

Mike Shrimpton threw hundreds and hundreds of balls at me for a couple of years when I decided I wanted to work on my batting with him and went up to see him in Napier for some training. He went above and beyond what any coach has ever done for me and took my batting to the next level. I miss him dearly as a friend and coach and New Zealand women’s cricket will really miss the voluntary work he did for female cricketers in this country and especially the girls at Central Districts. The success I had in the 2013/2014 season in the one day format was credit to all the work he had put in with me and I will forever be grateful for both these coaches and what they taught me about cricket and life.