Lisa Keightley to leave England head coach role

Keightley will walk away from the job at the end of her current contract, which is due to expire in the autumn. The ECB say the decision was reached mutually before the Commonwealth Games

Lisa Keightley is to step down as coach of England's women after two and a half years in the role.

Keightley will walk away from the job at the end of her current contract, which is due to expire in the autumn. The ECB say the decision was reached mutually before the Commonwealth Games. 

England's performance at the Games - they failed to win a medal after losing their semi-final to India and the bronze medal play-off to New Zealand - is understood not to have been a factor in the decision.

^{Lisa Keightley is stepping down as England head coach [Getty Images]}

Keightley took over from Mark Robinson just prior to the outbreak of the global Covid-19 pandemic, overseeing a semi-final elimination at the hands of the weather in the 2020 T20 World Cup in Australia.

She later led England to the final of the 2022 World Cup, where they were beaten by the Aussies. 

Her final series will come against India in September. The ECB, meanwhile, will begin a hunt for Keightley's successor. Whoever gets the job will need to make a fast impact, with the T20 World Cup set to take place in South Africa in February. 

England are beginning a period of transition, with a new generation of players starting out in international cricket and the old guard - which famously took the country to the top of the world in 2017 - starting to see their stars wane.

^{Keightley joined the ECB in 2020 [Getty Images]}

The new head coach will also preside over an increasingly professionalised structure, with greater competition for places.

They will need to find a way of closing the gap to Australia, and ensuring that English women's cricket is not overtaken by the Indian and Kiwi structures.

Jonathan Finch, the director of England women's cricket, said: "Leading an international team is challenging at the best of times.

"It is more challenging during a pandemic, and Lisa has been able to continue the development of the team during what has been the toughest period we have faced off the field."

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