In a significant development for English cricket, the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) has announced the appointment of Australian Leah Poulton as the new managing director of England women. The 42-year-old former batter will take up her role in November, bringing with her a wealth of experience from various roles across the globe.
Poulton's impressive resume includes stints as assistant coach for Sydney Thunder and Sydney Sixers in the Women's Big Bash League, as well as pathway manager and assistant coach for NSW Breakers. She has also had a spell as high performance coach at Cricket Australia before becoming head of elite female cricket at Cricket NSW, a position she held for six years.
As managing director, Poulton will be accountable for the performances of England women, England women A, England women U19s, and the overall effectiveness and reputation of the women's high-performance system. She will work closely with head coach Charlotte Edwards and captain Nat Sciver-Brunt to set a clear vision for England women to consistently succeed on the world stage.
The appointment comes at an exciting time for English cricket, with the team set to host Australia in a women's Ashes next summer. Poulton expressed her excitement and honour at joining England, stating: "I'm incredibly excited and honoured to be joining England and to have the opportunity to help shape our programmes and, most importantly, invest in our people."
She continued: "I'm looking forward to working with Charlotte, Nat and the wider team, building on the strong foundations already in place and taking the programme forward. I know how vital strong pathways and a healthy domestic game are to sustained success, so I'm looking forward to connecting with people across the game and helping give the next generation of English players every opportunity to thrive."
