Shane Warne and Lisa Keightley have been appointed as the men’s and women’s head coaches respectively for the London based team, which will comprise of MCC, Middlesex, Essex and Northamptonshire ahead of the inaugural season of The Hundred.
Legendary Australia leg-spinner Warne, 49, is one of the most iconic names in world cricket while former Australia Women’s coach Keightley becomes the first female coach appointed for The Hundred.
“This tournament will unearth some heroes and hopefully some future World Cup stars for England and other countries.”
Warne said: “I’m very proud and very honoured to be asked to be the head coach of The Hundred team based at Lord’s. The opportunity to coach in a brand-new tournament and work with modern-day players is something that I will really enjoy and I am looking forward to the challenge.
“This tournament will unearth some heroes and hopefully some future World Cup stars for England and other countries.”
The legendary Australia leg-spinner was captain-coach when Rajasthan Royals famously won the first-ever Indian Premier League title and hopes history can repeat itself next summer.
“I always want to be ahead of the curve because cricket benefits from innovation and that was the case in 2008 with the IPL, when I was captain-coach of the Rajasthan Royals,” he said.
“I love the concept of The Hundred and it has grabbed my attention in the same way the IPL did. We built a team from scratch with a diverse range of players from different backgrounds and ages and I can’t wait to build the same mix of players to entertain the fans who come down to Lord’s for The Hundred.”
Keightley ensured her place in cricketing folklore in 1998 when she became the first female player to score a century at Lord’s while playing for Australia, in a one-day international against England.
The 47-year-old was the first female coach of the Australian Women’s team and was England Women’s Academy head coach before returning home to coach Western Australia and the Perth Scorchers in the Women’s Big Bash League.
Talking about her appointment, Keightley said: “It is an honour to be appointed as the first female coach for The Hundred and to be a part of a tournament that is set to showcase the best women’s players from around the world.
"the prestige and opportunity of this role made it an easy decision for me "
“I thoroughly enjoyed my time as a coach in England and the prestige and opportunity of this role made it an easy decision for me to come back.”
Guy Lavender, Chief Executive & Secretary of MCC said: “Over the last few months we have been determined to bring the best head coaches on board to lead our teams for The Hundred. Shane Warne has been closely linked to the Home of Cricket for many years and will bring his undoubted cricketing prowess, as well as his IPL-winning coaching experience.
"Lisa Keightley is an exceptional coach who will bring her strong track record to our team. We have two world-class coaches that we believe will be an excellent combination and who we are thrilled to be working with.”
"Having two stars like Shane and Lisa involved is another big step forward for The Hundred "
Sanjay Patel, Managing Director of The Hundred, said: “It’s great to announce the first of our women’s head coaches and to welcome two legends of the game to the competition.
"Having two stars like Shane and Lisa involved is another big step forward for The Hundred and shows the excitement that the competition is generating across the world game.”
The Hundred
The Hundred is a new and exciting 100 ball format that is set to launch in July next year with the men’s and women’s tournaments to run concurrently over a five-week period.
The tournament is set to attract the world’s best players and will be broadcast live on Sky Sports and free-to-air on the BBC with eight city-based clubs, from Manchester, Leeds, Nottingham, Birmingham, Cardiff, Southampton and two in London (Lord’s and the Oval).
The men’s Player Draft is set to provide an historic occasion for British sport when it is the first major draft to be held in this country on Sunday, October 20.
The men’s Player Draft will be shown live by Sky Sports with extensive coverage across the BBC.
Fans can register their interest in tickets and information via thehundred.com.
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