Attention isn't something White Ferns cricketers Amy Satterthwaite and Lea Tahuhu are used to.

As "pretty low-key type people" it isn't something they're necessarily comfortable with either.

Satterthwaite, named world One Day International player of the year in 2017, describes her record-equalling feat of scoring four back-to-back centuries last summer as "an interesting time". Tahuhu, considered one of the most intimidating bowlers in the women's game, is quick — 126kmh quick — but she is just as fast to downplay that figure.

But as a married couple playing in the same international team, Satterthwaite and Tahuhu are aware theirs is a partnership that merits attention.

At a time when Israel Folau's homophobic preachings have brought issues of diversity and inclusion front and centre in the sporting conversation on both sides of the Tasman, Satterthwaite and Tahuhu are talking publicly about their marriage for the first time in the hope of normalising same-sex relationships.

"We take it as an opportunity that if one person reads this, or hears about us, and it helps that one person that might be struggling a little bit, then I think that's a really great thing for us to be able to do," says Tahuhu.

This is not a "coming out" story — after all, the pair have been married for more than a year and together for eight. In the White Ferns environment there is acceptance, almost to the point of indifference, of Satterthwaite and Tahuhu's relationship. Most of their teammates have only ever known them as a couple.

SUPPLIED White Ferns cricketers Lea Tahuhu (left) and Amy Satterthwaite married in March last year at Hanmer Springs.

There is acceptance too, that as NZ Cricket work hard to promote the women's game and boost the profile of the players, fans will naturally want to know more about the athletes.

The White Ferns programme has undergone a steady evolution in the past 18 months after a damning report into the state of the women's game declared female players "a species on the verge of extinction" following decades of neglect. The national body moved to adopt all the recommendations in the report, which included ensuring the elite women's players are celebrated just as much as their male counterparts.

That the couple are sitting together on the faded red couch in the Debbie Hockley pavilion — named after the White Ferns' greatest player — at NZ Cricket's high performance hub on the fringes of Lincoln University, talking candidly about their relationship, is the result of progress on many fronts.

"You understand that when you're playing at that level, that kind of attention just comes with the territory. For me, if we're getting more attention and people are interested in who we are as people, then it shows that people are taking an interest in the team," Satterthwaite says.

"We tend to be pretty private people, but we've always been comfortable talking about [our relationship] — we wouldn't be doing this if we weren't. And it's good to be able to celebrate it in a way."

IAIN McGREGOR/STUFF Amy Satterthwaite and Lea Tahuhu are speaking publicly about their relationship for the first time.

So, for those who appreciate a good sporting love match, Satterthwaite is happy to spill the details. The pair both played for St Albans club in Christchurch growing up, but didn't get together until 2010, when they were playing for Canterbury.

"I think we probably for the first bit kept it to ourselves initially just because of that team dynamic but once we then got to a point, it was just like this is who we are. If you make it a big deal, then it is a big deal. So it was more about normalising it, I guess," says Satterthwaite.

They got engaged in 2014. It was Tahuhu, who at 27 is four years younger than Satterthwaite, who popped the question. She put together a photo montage of the couple together through the years before asking Satterthwaite to be her teammate for life.

They married in March last year at Hanmer Springs — about half an hour up State Highway 7 from Culverden in North Canterbury, where Satterthwaite grew up — in an intimate gathering of family and friends. The brides wore white.

"It was just your kind of typical low-key wedding really," says Satterthwaite.

SUPPLIED They describe themselves as "pretty low-key type people", and say their wedding was low-key too.

The indoor facility at NZ Cricket's high performance centre, set back from the iconic Bert Sutcliffe Oval, has become a battleground for the White Ferns.

The team are in camp preparing for their upcoming tour to the UK, where they will play warm-up matches against Ireland, before facing England and South Africa as a Tri-Series.

But today, they are divided. Nick Webb, who recently came on full-time as the White Ferns' strength and conditioning coach, introduces a modified game of American Football during the team's fitness session. The players are still recovering from that morning's sprint training, but as soon as there is talk of a game they are remarkably re-energised.

IAIN McGREGOR/STUFF Tahuhu (left) and Satterthwaite's relationship doesn't encroach on their professionalism in in the team environment, according to their coach.

It's "blondies" versus "brunettes" which means Tahuhu (the blondie) and Satterthwaite are put in opposing teams. It is immediately clear neither of them is willing to take it easy on their spouse.

By mid-way through the game the blondies appear to have the edge, and Tahuhu wants to ram home the advantage. The brunettes are in possession, Satterthwaite has the ball, Tahuhu is determined to get it off her. She corners Satterthwaite, and begins flailing her arms wildly in an attempt to block the outlet pass, before desperately lunging to try to cut off the ball as it is released.

In that moment, there is such intensity to her glare that you begin to wonder if she might maul her own wife just to win her side the ball.

"I'm a very competitive person, so it doesn't matter who it is — I would be that competitive with absolutely everyone," laughs Tahuhu, who is back to her laid-back self in the more relaxed surroundings of 'the pavs' — as the onsite accommodation blocks where the national teams stay when they are in camp are colloquially known.

While Tahuhu is able to laugh off her hyper-competitive nature, being a couple in a high-performance environment does pose some interesting challenges.

In a team sport where individuals experience such dramatic highs and lows, it's highly unlikely the pair will be riding the same performance wave.

Satterthwaite's sublime run of four centuries in the 2016/17 summer, which saw her match Sri Lankan great Kumar Sangakkara's record run, coincided with a dip in form for Tahuhu, who struggled with consistency over the summer. Satterthwaite too has endured quiet spells. She was dropped from the team in early 2014 after a poor domestic season for Canterbury.

JOHN DAVIDSON/PHOTOSPORT Satterthwaite and Tahuhu talk tactics with White Ferns skipper Suzie Bates during the second ODI against the West Indies earlier this year.

"Cricket is really unique, it's not like a really fast-paced game where if you make a mistake, the whistle is blown and you move onto the next play. There is a much more of a spotlight on individual performances and it can be a long day if you didn't perform well," says White Ferns coach Haidee Tiffen.

"Amy and Lea have that special bond where they are able to celebrate one another's success, and they are there for one another if one of them needs to work through those disappointments."

As vice-captain, Satterthwaite is faced with another delicate balancing act. She gets a spot at the roundtable alongside captain Suzie Bates and the coaching staff when it comes to selection discussions. It raises the potential for conflict when you must have open and frank conversations about your partner's form.

Tiffen says there has never been a time when the pair's personal relationship has had an impact on team selections and decision-making.

"Amy is very professional and she knows that being vice-captain is a special role and she takes that responsibility seriously. With regards to discussion around Lea, the process is exactly the same for what it is for any other player," she says.

"They both understand it is the team that comes first and they are very professional around that."

Other than a bit of banter from the rest of the team about being an old married couple, Tahuhu doesn't believe her personal relationship has any impact on the team dynamic. It's no different, she says, from having a close friend or sibling in the team.

"Obviously you have a bit of a closer bond in the team environment, which is natural. It's the same if there are a pair of sisters in the team, or brothers playing for the All Blacks - they're always going be slightly closer."

That Satterthwaite and Tahuhu feel supported and empowered to talk publicly about their relationship in many ways reflects the changing culture in New Zealand cricket.

There is evidence of progress everywhere you look around the indoor centre, where the players are being put through intensive fielding drills.

When Tiffen started out in the role three years ago, she was only on a part-time contract. Today she is assisted by former Black Caps Matt Bell and Jacob Oram, the team's bowling coach. Webb has just come on in a full-time capacity as well, then there's sports psychologist Rod Corban, who has been brought into assist with the side's mental preparation.

Early next month, when they depart on their six-week tour of the UK, they will fly business class, after the national body last week announced equal travel arrangements for the women's and men's teams.

IAIN McGREGOR/STUFF Tahuhu (front left) and Satterthwaite (front right) pair up for fielding drills at NZ Cricket's high performance centre in Lincoln.

Their numbers have been boosted as well. A squad of 15 will tour with the Ferns — the same size as the Black Caps touring squad. On previous tours the White Ferns have scraped by with 13 players, despite their schedule being more condensed.

There have been subtle changes too in the positioning of the women's game.

Oram is still getting his head around not referring to the players as "the girls". It's not that the team considers it offensive, it's about the impact the language can have on how the team is viewed by the wider public.

He understands why it matters, it's just hard to break the habit — "I mean, I would always call the my teammates 'the boys', I wouldn't call them 'players' or 'athletes'," he says, bewildered.

Life comes at you fast, especially when you take three shots in your coffee.

Satterthwaite and Tahuhu have experienced first hand what proper investment and support can do for the women's game. The pair have been plying their trade in the Big Bash League across the Tasman for the past few seasons — the last two together at the Melbourne Renegades.

MARK BRAKE/GETTY IMAGES Satterthwaite in action for the Melbourne Renegades in the women's Big Bash League.

Seeing the way the women's game has raced ahead in Australia through proper investment and aggressive marketing has been a revelation to the the Kiwi couple. Often played at family-friendly times, their games attract huge crowds, and a strong television audience.

Their faces feature on glossy posters and playing cards, which kids — boys and girls — line up after each match to have them sign and take a selfie.

"They've done a really good job of promoting it, running it, selling it — I think the whole kind of package. It's really taken off and got a lot of publicity and there's a lot of fans coming out to watch the games and want to get to know players and the interactions have been pretty cool," says Satterthwaite.

The success of the women's Big Bash prompted some tough conversations about the state of the women's game back here, culminating in Sarah Beaman's brutal 2016 review. Beaman, a business consultant and former Auckland cricketer, described how decades of relegating the women's game to a mere cost centre had seen the numbers of female players spiral into terminal decline.

"I think for us the beauty of it is that some of the things happening around the world have made us look internally and say 'well what actually is the status of the game in New Zealand' and I think the positive thing about it is we now have a clear picture of where it's at and we can now look forward to creating something ourselves to improve it. Whereas if that hadn't happened, who knows where we would be now?" says Satterthwaite.

"It's exciting in the sense in that it made people sit up and take notice to what was going on."

Even when the attention is uncomfortable, good things can come from it.