Following the news that Lisa Keightley is to step down at the end of the summer, The Cricketer profiles some of those who might be in with a shot of replacing the Australian
A natural frontrunning candidate given a range of factors, it remains to be seen whether the former England captain considers this to be the right time to step into a job that feels inevitably to be hers at some point.
She has led Southern Vipers to consecutive Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy titles and earlier this summer to the T20 crown bearing her name, while developing several youngsters – Charlie Dean and Freya Kemp among them – to international recognition.
She was part of England A's backroom team in Australia over the winter, led Southern Brave to the final of The Hundred in 2021 and has a big job in the Women's Big Bash as head coach of Sydney Sixers.
Having only retired from international cricket in 2016, she counts several members of the current squad as former teammates, with current captain Heather Knight among them. It may be that she would rather wait until there is greater distance between them.
The most experienced of Lisa Keightley's assistants, Lewis coached Durham to the County Championship title in the men's sphere almost a decade ago and has led a varied coaching career.
He has been popular as a batting consultant among England's squad, having in the recent past held similar posts with the men's teams of Sri Lanka and Bangladesh.
Lewis has no head-coaching experience in the women's game, but there are parallels between his path and that of Mark Robinson, who was so successful with Sussex before moving over to take the England reins.
Charlotte Edwards has enjoyed a hugely successful start to life as a head coach (Ashley Allen/Getty Images)
Another member of England's current coaching team, the former West Indies would be a leftfield appointment, having never held a head-coach role until now.
Ironically, that is set to change in the coming days as he takes charge of Welsh Fire's women's team in The Hundred – a post that was vacant only after Matthew Mott left his position as Australia's women's head coach to take over England men's white-ball teams.
Breese and Lewis go way back, having spent time at Durham together. Breese, 46, has been a key part of England's setup since joining the ECB as performance coach for spin across the pathway in 2018.
Another former England player and – like Breese – another former off-spinner. Hazell has developed into a highly regarded coach in recent years, guiding Northern Diamonds to consecutive Heyhoe Flint Trophy finals and to the runners-up spot in the inaugural Charlotte Edwards Cup.
That role came after a single year in charge of Yorkshire Diamonds in the final season of the Kia Super League; she is currently preparing for her second campaign in charge of Northern Superchargers in The Hundred.
Whether this opening comes too soon for the 34-year-old, who only retired from international cricket in 2019, leaves a potential question-mark.
Salliann Beams has a terrific CV but has just embarked on a new job (Paul Kane/Getty Images)
One of the most impressive English coaches in the game, Beams is in her second year as head coach of Trent Rockets in The Hundred but is primarily based in Australia.
Her candidacy for the England job has been complicated, however, by her own recent job shift. Only last week, the 38-year-old was appointed as Cricket Tasmania's new general manager of high performance.
That move comes five months after guiding Tasmanian Tigers to silverware and after four seasons in charge of Hobart Hurricanes in the WBBL. Her new responsibilities mean Hurricanes have been forced to look for a new head coach.
Beams, who spent much of her playing career representing Yorkshire, previously held coaching roles within the ECB, before taking on a cricket performance job at Loughborough University.
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.
That record led to his appointment as head coach of Melbourne Stars ahead of this winter's WBBL.
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.
Jon Batty is a man in demand at the moment (Ben Hoskins/Getty Images)
David Hemp, the former Glamorgan and Bermuda batter, is another potential candidate who has coached Melbourne Stars in the WBBL. More recently, since October 2020, Hemp has led Pakistan's women's team, and he is due to join forces with Breese during The Hundred as part of his coaching staff at Welsh Fire.
Caroline Foster, who is widely respected and was an assistant coach at Birmingham Phoenix in 2021, recently left her coaching job at Wellington School for a new role at Queen's College Taunton, while Julia Price, no longer head coach of USA's women's team, could be a candidate, given her impressive CV, which includes working as an assistant to Darren Lehmann at Brisbane Heat in the Big Bash. She is a former Australian teammate of Keightley and has previously coached Heather Knight in the WBBL.
Lydia Greenway was originally meant to coach Oval Invincibles in the inaugural edition of The Hundred and has since led the Barmy Army team in the FairBreak tournament earlier this year. Whether she would be keen on a more full-time assignment – given her busy, varied schedule – is a separate question.
Ali Maiden, now Yorkshire's batting coach, spent nine years as part of the England Women's setup, including four as Mark Robinson's World Cup-winning assistant. He was briefly in interim charge in between Robinson's exit and Keightley's arrival but left to become the head of Leicestershire's talent pathway, before moving again for Yorkshire, making the same journey as ex-Lancashire allrounder Tom Smith who has previously formed part of England's coaching staff.
As Robinson showed, though, there is every chance a new face for the women's game could appear in the hotseat by the time England's winter programme begins.
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