Weber WBBL|08
Lisa Keightley will lead Sydney Thunder's WBBL side for at least the next three seasons as the former Australia player and experienced mentor returns to coaching in her home nation
Riley Alexander
1 February 2023, 03:04 PM AEST
@Ralexander2002
Sydney Thunder have signed former Australia player and renowned coach Lisa Keightley to lead their Weber WBBL side for the next three seasons.
Since her playing retirement in 2005, Keightley has created history as the first woman to coach Australia and England's national teams, while she has also coached NSW, Western Australia, and guided the Perth Scorchers to two WBBL Final appearances.
While she coached England's women's team to the ODI World Cup final in 2022, Keightley decided not to extend her contract with them beyond August last year.
The former right-hand batter of 92 internationals is currently in South Africa as the Tactical Performance coach for the domestic T20 team, Paarl Royals.
Now, she will link up with a Thunder side who haven't made finals since their WBBL|06 triumph, taking over from Trevor Griffin who parted ways with the club last month.
"I know Sydney Thunder has a good history, and it has won two titles. There's also a good group of players who have enjoyed success," Keightley said.
"When I say it's a challenge, it's in the sense of the team having a couple of seasons where they'd want to be. I'll be making sure we're competitive and winning games of cricket.
"Thunder has a core of players who have played for a number of years and have enjoyed success. I'm hoping it won't take too much."
Considered a great of both Australian and NSW cricket, the 51-year-old said she was excited to help foster the development of the Thunder's young stars such as Phoebe Litchfield and Hannah Darlington.
"Hannah Darlington has had success, as has Phoebe Litchfield," Keightley said.
"Tahlia Wilson has been playing in (the NSW WNCL team) consistently over the years, and she'll be looking to improve and have an impact.
"I look at other players and see Sammy-Jo Johnson as a seasoned campaigner who is probably a little disappointed in how she played this year. However, she's had success in the past, so I can see no reason why that can't be turned around.
"Then you have the likes of Lauren Smith, another player who has played for a number of years and had success throughout the WBBL. It's a matter of, to me, some overseas players being in and around the quality that we've got, and then playing some consistent cricket."
Head of Thunder Andrew Gilchrist said he was confident Keightley would usher in a new era for the club and said they were ecstatic to have secured the services of one of cricket's most sought-after mentors.
"Lisa Keightley is one of world cricket's most respected coaches, and we are thrilled to have her as our Head Coach," he said.
"She has proven herself at every level of the game, and her work in recent years to help turn England into a powerhouse through her efforts with that country's national team and also, it's Women's Academy, inspires everyone at Thunder to believe she can have the same impact here.
"Lisa has made it clear she wants to work with Thunder's players throughout the season, and that can only be beneficial for the squad regardless of whether they are raw rookies or experienced campaigners."
cricket.com.au is a production of CA Digital Media – a division of Cricket Australia.
© 2023 Cricket Australia.
All rights reserved.
Thunder sign Keightley as new WBBL coach | cricket.com.au – cricket.com.au
