Amy Satterthwaite of New Zealand sings the New Zealand national anthem. Photo / Getty Images
Amy Satterthwaite of New Zealand sings the New Zealand national anthem. Photo / Getty Images
Amy Satterthwaite is suffering some sleepless nights – but not because of her demotion from the White Ferns captaincy.
Satterthwaite is back from maternity leave, linking up with the White Ferns squad as they take part in the first of six winter training camps ahead of a tentative schedule whichsees them resume action against Australia at the end of September.
However, she will do so in a lesser capacity, having been bumped from the captaincy upon her return, with Sophie Devine taking up the fulltime role after impressing during Satterthwaite's absence.
While Satterthwaite is currently trying to juggle a lack of sleep alongside her return to training, those restless nights are caused by 6-month-old daughter Grace, rather than lingering resentment over being snubbed for the top job.
Amy Satterthwaite batting during the third Commonwealth Bank Women's ODI between New Zealand White Ferns and Australia. Photo / Photosport
The process undertaken by New Zealand Cricket acknowledged from the outset that Satterthwaite remained the incumbent captain, but Devine's performances in charge got her the nod, something Satterthwaite acknowledged was gutting.
"It was disappointing not to retain the captaincy – I really enjoyed the opportunity to do that last year and it's always a real honour to lead your country - but I've got a different focus now in terms of getting back to being able to play cricket at an international level, and I'm really excited about that challenge," Satterthwaite said.
"I'm looking forward, as well, to supporting Sophie, I guess I've always been in and around the leadership group in the last few years – even when Suzie [Bates] was involved – so I think that doesn't change in terms of offering that leadership."
Satterthwaite notes that the jokingly self-proclaimed "three wise women" should create a strong leadership triumvirate.
"We've been around for a wee while now and got a lot of experience – that's the beauty of the group we've got, between the three of us we've got different strengths we can offer from a leadership point of view, which is a real asset."
Amy Satterthwaite. Photo / Photosport
Satterthwaite will also offer plenty with the bat, stabilising a top order that was overly reliant on Devine's contributions during their pool-play exit at the Twenty20 World Cup.
The 33-year-old averages 39 in one-day internationals, and with the ODI World Cup still scheduled to be hosted in New Zealand in February, she is preparing to be at her peak for the pinnacle event.
"I'm back hitting balls and feeling like I haven't left to a certain extent.
"I took my time to ease back into it, let the body adjust, and that adjustment's been going pretty well so far thankfully. I was a bit nervous to be honest about hitting balls for the first time but somewhere deep within there was that muscle memory.
"It doesn't get much better than having a World Cup at home, we're really looking forward to that and we've got a lot of hard work to do between now and then."
