Jon Lewis served as bowling coach under Chris Silverwood during his time as England head coach. He takes over from Lisa Keightley as the new head coach of England Women ahead of next year's T20 World Cup
Friday 18 November 2022 18:57, UK
Former Gloucestershire and England seamer Jon Lewis has been appointed England Women's new head coach.
The 47-year-old succeeds Lisa Keightley after she stepped down from the role to move back to Australia this summer, having led the team since 2019.
Lewis represented Gloucestershire, Surrey, Sussex and England's Young Lions across his playing career, taking over 1,200 wickets and earning 15 caps for England.
After retiring, Lewis took up a role as the head coach of Sussex in 2015 followed by his position as England U19s bowling coach.
He went on to become bowling coach on the staff of former England head coach Chris Silverwood but was moved to the player pathway upon the arrival of Brendon McCullum this summer.
England's women are heading into a white-ball tour of West Indies in December as they prepare for the T20 World Cup in South Africa this February.
England's ODI and T20 squads for the Caribbean will be announced next week and while Lewis was consulted, selection was finalised before he became head coach.
Commenting on the appointment, Lewis said he is excited for the "new challenge".
"It's very exciting to have been appointed as head coach of the England women's team. It's a new challenge, and one that I can't wait to get stuck into," he said.
"I've watched from a distance over the last few years and it's clear that there are a lot of reasons to be optimistic about this team's chances going forward.
"The last couple of years have seen the introduction of some younger players and that, allied with the increased strength in depth coming from the regional game, is a really promising sign for the coming few years.
Jonathan Finch, director of England women's cricket, added that Lewis has "excellent pedigree in the men's game".
"We set out to find a head coach with a range of experiences to help lead an exciting group of players across all formats and I am excited with what the future holds with Jon in the role.
"Jon comes with excellent pedigree in the men's game working across different levels of the international pathway, and we were really impressed by how he sees the role moving forward. We look forward to him coming on board and driving the future direction of this team."
Lewis's appointment comes almost four months after the ECB announced that Keightley would not be extending her contract and would step down as head coach after the ODI series against India in September.
Keightley led England to the semi-final of the 2020 ICC Women's T20 World Cup, as well as the final of the 2022 ICC Women's World Cup.
England also missed out on a medal at the Commonwealth Games, after losing to India in the semi-final and then to New Zealand in the bronze medal match.
The Australian was appointed as the first full-time female head coach of the women's team in 2019 but a large part of her time at the helm was disrupted by Covid.
Despite her contract ending in December, she said after the second ODI that she will leave early to give enough time for the next coach to put their mark on the side before the World Cup in 2023.
