Australian Leah Poulton named England women's cricket chief
The ECB has appointed Australian Leah Poulton as managing director of England women's cricket, starting in November as she succeeds Clare Connor.
The England and Wales Cricket Board has named 42-year-old Australian Leah Poulton as the new managing director of England women's cricket. The former batter, who represented Australia 90 times, will take up the role in November, succeeding Clare Connor.
Poulton brings extensive experience from Australian cricket, having served as assistant coach for both Sydney Thunder and Sydney Sixers in the Women's Big Bash League. She also worked at Cricket New South Wales as pathway manager and assistant coach for the NSW Breakers.
Before her current position, Poulton spent time as a high performance coach at Cricket Australia, and for the past six years has led elite female cricket at Cricket NSW.
Broad responsibilities
According to the ECB, Poulton will be accountable for the performances of the England women's senior team, England women A and the England women's U19 side, as well as the overall effectiveness and reputation of the women's high-performance system. She will work closely with head coach Charlotte Edwards and captain Nat Sciver-Brunt to set a unified vision for sustained success on the world stage.
Poulton said she was honoured to join England and eager to help shape the programmes while investing in the people involved. She highlighted the importance of strong development pathways and a healthy domestic game for long-term success, adding that she looked forward to giving the next generation of English players every opportunity to thrive.
England will host Australia in a women's Ashes series next summer.
