Jonathan Batty named as Melbourne Stars coach for WBBL

The former Surrey wicketkeeper led Oval Invincibles to the title in inaugural edition of The Hundred

Jonathan Batty has been named as Melbourne Stars' head coach for the forthcoming Women's Big Bash.

The former Surrey wicketkeeper led Oval Invincibles to the title in inaugural edition of The Hundred and is also head coach of Surrey's women's team.

Previously, he was head coach of South East Stars in the first year of the regional structure introduced to English women's domestic cricket in 2020, while he has also worked with England's wicketkeepers.

"I can't wait to get started," said Batty, "having watched the competition from afar for a number of years which has been a sector leading tournament for women's cricket globally. To be a part of a team like the Melbourne Stars, and work with such a talented squad who are led by some outstanding world-class players, was a fantastic opportunity that I wanted to be a part of.

"I can't wait to work with an outstanding captain in Meg Lanning, I'm looking forward to getting to Melbourne, meeting the squad, getting to know them, the fans and the city and hopefully have some success later this year."

Melbourne Stars general manager Blair Crouch added that Batty had been "the standout candidate from a very strong field".

He said: "We haven't played in Melbourne since 2019 and we cannot wait to get back in front of our members and fans in WBBL|08. We hope to make some more exciting announcements in the coming weeks as we continue to work to improve our squad."

^{Meg Lanning has captained Melbourne Stars since returning following a stint with Perth Scorchers (Mark Brake/Getty Images)}

Since Batty's retirement from playing, he has also worked as a geography teacher and cricket professional at Caterham School, having initially dabbled in the world of media, briefly at Setanta TV.

He scored more than 9,000 runs and completed almost 1,000 dismissals during a career that ended with three seasons at Gloucestershire after 15 years on Surrey's books, during which time he captained the county in 2004.

Batty is due to arrive in Australia in September but plans to meet Lanning, his captain, during the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham. He is the team's fourth coach in four years and replaces Jarrad Loughman, who steered Stars to fifth last season.