Melbourne Stars name Jonathan Batty as head coach for WBBL08

Batty, who played for Surrey and Gloucestershire, was the coach of Oval Invincibles when they won the inaugural edition of The Hundred Women’s competition. He also coaches Surrey Women in England domestic cricket.

“Firstly, a big thank you to the Melbourne Stars for appointing me as the head coach for WBBL08. I can't wait to get started, having watched the competition from afar for a number of years which has been a sector leading tournament for women's cricket globally,” Batty said talking about his appointment.

48-year-old Batty played 221 First Class matches, 209 List A games, and 64 T20s and amassed more than 10000 runs across formats. Having made his debut in 1994, he played 13 seasons for Surrey from 1997 before moving to Gloucestershire.

“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,” he added.

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As a coach, he has worked at various levels and had a role as an assistant coach of Surrey Stars. He was also in charge England Under-17 boys, England women wicket-keepers before taking over as head coach of South East Stars.

Blair Crouch, Stars general manager, welcomed Batty to the set up and hoped that he will help the Melbourne side utilize the talent within the squad at an optimum level

“We look forward to welcoming Jonathan to the Stars Family for WBBL08. Our aim every season is to play finals and we hope Jonathan can maximise the outstanding talent within our squad. The process to secure our Head Coach was a global search and Jonathan was the standout candidate from a very strong field. We haven't played in Melbourne since 2019 and we cannot wait to get back in front of our members and fans in WBBL08. We hope to make some more exciting announcements in the coming weeks as we continue to work to improve our squad.” Crouch said.

Batty will join Stars squad in September ahead of the WBBL season, the release said.