Jonathan Batty named Melbourne Stars new WBBL coach

Inaugural women's Hundred-winning coach Jonathan Batty has been appointed as the new coach of the Melbourne Stars for the upcoming WBBL season.

Batty, who played county cricket for Surrey, Gloucestershire, and Northamptonshire over a nearly two-decade career, coached Oval Invincibles to the Hundred title last season.

The former wicketkeeper-batter becomes Stars' third WBBL coach in three seasons. Batty replaces Jarrad Loughman who had just one season in charge of Stars but remains as Victoria's women's coach in the WNCL competition. Loughnan took over from Trent Woodhill who led Stars to their first WBBL final in 2020-21 where they were beaten by Sydney Thunder.

Batty heads to Melbourne with extensive experience coaching women's cricket in England. He is the current coach of both Invincibles and Surrey Women and led the South-East Stars in the Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy in 2020. He has also worked with England women's wicketkeepers and England's Under 17s.

"I can't wait to get started, having watched the competition from afar for a number of years which has been a sector-leading tournament for women's cricket globally," Batty said. "To be a part of a team like the Melbourne Stars, and work with such a talented squad who are led by some outstanding world-class players, was a fantastic opportunity that I wanted to be a part of. I can't wait to work with an outstanding captain in Meg Lanning, I'm looking forward to getting to Melbourne."

Stars' general manager Blair Crouch was hopeful Batty could lead them back to the finals after finishing fifth last season.

"Our aim every season is to play finals and we hope Jonathan can maximise the outstanding talent within our squad," Couch said. "The process to secure our Head Coach was a global search and Jonathan was the standout candidate from a very strong field."