New Zealand Cricket on Thursday confirmed that Sophie Devine has been named as the permanent captain of the national side, with Amy Satterthwaite to take the role of vice-captain following her return from maternity leave.

Devine took on the White Ferns captaincy in an interim capacity last season, and her strong leadership led to her being offered the captaincy on a full-time basis, NZC said in a media release.

Satterthwaite returns to the side after maternity leave and will form a key part of the leadership group as the team work towards the World Cup 2021 hosted in New Zealand early next year.

“It’s a huge honour and privilege to be awarded the White Ferns captaincy,” said Devine.

“I thoroughly enjoyed my time as captain over the past season. It was challenging results-wise at times, but I feel we are moving in the right direction as a team, both with our cricket and our team culture.

“I’m very much looking forward to working with Amy who has an exceptional cricketing brain and I feel we can form a strong leadership partnership in combination with a well-established leadership group.”

Satterthwaite said being the New Zealand captain was a great privilege.

“I’m looking forward to returning to international cricket and doing my best to support Sophie and the team,” said Satterthwaite.

Devine assumes the role of full-time captain immediately with the White Ferns preparing for split-squad training camps starting in Lincoln next week.

Head coach Bob Carter has been impressed with the way Devine has taken the captaincy in her stride over the past season.

“Sophie is a strong leader, she has her own style and knows what she wants from herself and the team,” Carter said.

“It’s a testament to her ability as a leader that her performance with the bat last summer went to a new level. She leads with her actions and the team responds well to her leadership style.

“Amy is on the comeback to cricket after giving birth and she is progressing really well. Having her experience, knowledge and leadership working alongside Sophie is only going to benefit the team.”

Their first series after the COVID-19 pandemic-induced break will be a limited-overs tour of Australia in late September, where they are to play three ODIs and as many T20Is.