Stephen Parry appointed Essex Women head coach

Essex have appointed former England spinner Stephen Parry as their new women's team head coach.

Having retired in 2020, Parry was part of the coaching structures at both Lancashire Women and Manchester Originals. He took charge of Originals in the 2023 and 2024 seasons of the women's Hundred before being replaced by Michael Klinger.

Parry, 39, will aim to oversee an upturn in fortunes for Essex after a difficult first season in the Tier 1 women's structure that saw Andy Tennant depart as head coach after less than 12 months in the role.

"I am really excited for this next journey of my cricket career," Parry said. "I have seen the squad and I feel like I can bring my experience here to move them forward, become more competitive and work towards winning some trophies.

"The squad we have here is really exciting and there is a lot of room for growth. There are some great people here, plenty to work with and the club has a real family-orientated feel to it. I am still young, thirsty to learn and want to improve myself whilst helping everybody around me and look to build something special.

"The long-term goal is to build a squad where we are competitive across all formats, the first team, Academy and pathway - enhancing Essex Women's cricket as a whole."

Parry spent his entire 13-year playing career with Lancashire and remains the club's leading T20 wicket-taker. He was capped five times in the format by England, playing at the 2014 World T20 in Bangladesh, as well as twice in ODIs.

Essex's director of cricket, Chris Silverwood, said: "We are really excited to appoint Stephen as the new Essex Women's head coach. Stephen brings a wealth of experience from his playing and coaching career, and we are delighted to welcome him to the club.

"His recent appointments with Lancashire and the Manchester Originals have shown that he can lead teams in high-pressure environments, and develop, nurture, and bring through talent, which makes him the ideal person to guide our women's squad.

"We are confident that Stephen will have a major impact in shaping the current group of Essex Women, contributing to success both on and off the field."