New Zealand women's team (White Ferns) skipper Amy Satterthwaite on Tuesday announced her pregnancy and announced a break from cricket.
Satterthwaite is expecting her first child with wife Lea Tahuhu. Tahuhu is also Satterthwaite's team-mate in the White Ferns lineup.
She posted a photo on Instagram titled "Baby Satterhuhu due Jan 2020" and wrote "Lea and I are thrilled to share that I am expecting our first child early in the new year. Words cannot describe how excited we are about this new chapter #babysatterhuhu #jan2020" as the caption.
"I am very lucky to have great support from New Zealand Cricket (NZC) with regard to taking a break from the game to have a family," Satterthwaite said in a statement.
"I feel I still have a lot to give to the game and look forward to working my way back with an eye on the 2021 ICC Women's World Cup held in New Zealand," she added.
She also said that she would be involved with the White Ferns environment to offer support and knowledge to other cricketers.
New Zealand Cricket Chief Executive David White was delighted over Satterthwaite's announcement.
"As soon as the Women's Master Agreement (already agreed in principle) is signed off and confirmed, Amy will be announced as one of our contracted WHITE FERNS for the 2019-20 year," White said.
"As such, she will be the first player to benefit from the new pregnancy leave provisions included in the new agreement. This means she'll be paid her full retainer throughout and, although possibly fulfilling some off-field contractual obligations, will not be required to train or play," he added.
Satterthwaite has represented the Kiwi team in 119 ODIs and 99 T2OIs. She has scored 3821 and 1526 runs respectively in the 50-over format and 20-over format.
( With inputs from ANI )
