London [UK], Sep 12 (ANI): Amy Satterthwaite has been appointed as the new captain of New Zealand women cricket team as Suzie Bates stepped down from the post after being in charge for six years.

Reflecting on her retirement, Bates said that she enjoyed her journey as a skipper, but now she would like to focus more on her field performance.

She further revealed that for past few months she was struggling with her captaincy and the results were not exactly the way she liked.

"Captaining the White Ferns was a great honour and a rewarding experience. I can look back knowing I gave it my all for six years. I know I still have a lot to contribute to the White Ferns and international cricket, and that the best way for me to do that is by concentrating more energy into my performances on the field," ESPNcricinfo.com quoted Bates, as saying.

"The last 12 months I've probably struggled with captaincy and playing, and our performances as a group haven't gone as well as I would have liked. It has affected my performances, particularly at the end of seasons where I've been more fatigued. It was a little bit of a relief that I can just move on and spend my energy into being the best player I can be," she added.

Satterthwaite, who has previously led the side in three one-day matches, said that she is excited over her new job.

"It's a huge honour to be asked to captain your country and I'm really excited about what lies ahead. Suzie has done an outstanding job captaining the White Ferns over the past few years, and I'm sure she'll continue to contribute considerably in a leadership sense," she said.

Satterthwaite has played a total of 113 matches so far, scoring 3475 runs with an average of 37.36. (ANI)

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