England national coach Jon Lewis appointed head coach of WPL team UP Warriorz

The Lucknow-based Women's Premier League (WPL) team, owned by Capri Global Holdings, will be called UP Warriorz, and Jon Lewis, Anju Jain, Lisa Sthalekar and Ashley Noffke are all part of the support staff in various capacities.

Lewis, the current head coach of the England national team, will be the head coach of Warriorz, with former India captain and Bangladesh coach Anju Jain as the assistant coach. Noffke, the former Australia men's allrounder who has established himself as a women's cricket coach over the years, has been made the bowling coach, and Sthalekar, a great of Australian cricket and a prominent analyst, is the team's mentor.

In a statement, Lewis said he expected the time with Warriorz "to be a fascinating insight into the depth of cricket in India and a high-octane ride for the next couple of months".

"The WPL is a huge step forward for women's cricket globally and I am excited to be an integral part of this journey," he said. "Having Anju Jain, Ashley Noffke and Lisa Sthalekar who bring in a diverse set of experiences to the dugout can only make the task a whole lot easier."

Lewis, prior to becoming a prominent coach, played top-flight cricket in England for close to two decades, and was a consistent wicket-taker for Gloucestershire, in the main, and Surrey and Sussex, where he ended his career in 2014. He also turned out in a Test, 13 ODIs and two T20Is.

The WPL will be played across two venues in Mumbai from March 4 to 26, and the player auction to form the five squads will be held on February 13. The Lucknow-based squad was bought by Capri for INR 757 crore (US$ 92.85 million approx.) at the auction on January 25.