Lisa Pagett, former general manager of Western Storm in the Women’s Cricket Super League, has been appointed as the regional director of women’s cricket for the South West and Wales. Her main responsibility will be to provide direction to the regional senior team and academy. She will also be expected to create an inclusive player pathway with the cooperation of others in the region.
Pagett, who played a lead role in creating the ‘Western Storm dynasty’ in the WCSL, helped the club leave an incredible legacy of development programs that helped increase participation at all levels. Now, as part of the England and Wales Cricket Board’s latest action plan, she is part of the new structure being put in place to try and ensure the future success of women’s cricket by building on the success of leagues like the WCSL.
Ahead of her new role – in which she will take charge of the counties of Somerset, Gloucestershire, Glamorgan, Devon, Cornwall, Wiltshire and Cricket Wales – Pagett will be leaving her post as Gloucestershire Cricket Board’s women and girls’ development officer.
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“I’ve held a number of roles within the women’s game so I feel that I have a pretty comprehensive understanding of the game at lots of levels,” Pagett said after her appointment. “One of the things I’m really looking forward to is working with the six regional partners to drive the game forward across the whole of the South West.”
“When Western Storm was a KSL side, we made sure that our grass roots initiatives reached beyond just the Somerset and Gloucestershire boundaries. This role is very much about getting out and about because Western Storm represents the region as a whole and we want people to be able to connect with it."
“We have so many exciting opportunities ahead of us and to be able to support the development of the region’s talented women and girls is fantastic. Hopefully this will allow them to follow in the footsteps of players like Anya Shrubsole, Fran Wilson and Heather Knight, who came through the region so successfully.”
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Hugh Morris, Glamorgan CEO, said, “Western Storm will take the women’s game across the whole of the South West and Wales to the next level, and we are delighted to have someone of Lisa’s calibre at the helm."
“Throughout the duration of the KSL, Western Storm set the benchmark for excellence both on and off the field and that legacy, which Lisa played a huge part in, will now live on and help to produce the stars of the future.”