Tim Macdonald to leave England Women after Commonwealth Games

Tim Macdonald will leave his job as England Women's Senior Assistant Coach after the Commonwealth Games to take up an assistant coaching post with the Perth Scorchers and Western Australian men's teams.

Macdonald played first-class cricket for Western Australia and Tasmania. His family has continued to live Australia since he was appointed full-time assistant to Lisa Keightley - with whom he previously worked at Perth Scorchers and Western Fury - in August 2020. He had initially joined the England Women's set-up on an interim basis during the T20 World Cup in Australia earlier that year.

Macdonald will return home after the Commonwealth Games end in August to take up the role of Senior Assistant Coach - Bowling across the BBL and State competitions.

"I've loved every minute of working with such an amazing group of players and staff," Macdonald said. "I've learned a great deal and made some life-long friends, but I couldn't turn down this amazing opportunity to return home to Perth and be closer to my family.

"With my family living in Australia, and the ability to travel being heavily impacted by COVID-19, it has been a challenging yet rewarding time to be in this job, but in that time I believe I've seen our team improve and our pool of talent get deeper. Had the rain not intervened at the ICC Women's T20 World Cup we could easily have made two global finals in that time. The future is very bright for the England Women's team.

"The stars have aligned for me, and I'm so excited to return home to my new role with WA and the Perth Scorchers and I absolutely can't wait to get going following our quest for Commonwealth games gold."

England missed out on reaching the T20 World Cup title decider after rain washed out their semi-final against India, who advanced on points from the group stage. England then turned around a three-match losing streak at the start of this year's 50-over World Cup to finish runners-up to Australia.

Jonathan Finch, Director England Women's Cricket, said: "Tim has played a vital role in continuing to improve the England Women's team over the last two years, and will continue to do so as we prepare for the summer match programme.

"Tim's departure coincides with the start of the ICC Women's Championship and there is no doubt his positive influence will be felt over the coming years. We wish Tim all the best in his new role and thank him for the commitment and passion he has given to England Women's cricket."