Lachlan Stevens returns as Melbourne Renegades WBBL coach

Lachlan Stevens has been named head coach of the Melbourne Renegades WBBL team and the Victoria Women's team amid the restructuring at Cricket Victoria.

The Renegades role is a comeback for Stevens who was previously their head coach in the first two seasons of the WBBL.

Most recently he had been interim head coach of the Victoria men's team following Andrew McDonald's appointment as Justin Langer's assistant with the national side.

Stevens replaces Tim Coyle in the Renegades position after he was let go earlier this month while with Victoria he fills the role vacated by David Hemp.

"It's a great time to be returning to the women's game given the growth female cricket has enjoyed in recent seasons," Stevens said. "It's always enjoyable to watch and work with players at all stages of their careers and I'm honoured to be able to work with another Victorian cricket side. I look forward to watching all of them going about their training and playing."

"I was lucky enough to be a part of the Renegades in the first two seasons of the WBBL and I'm looking forward to catching up with several of those players again in the not too distant future. I can't wait to watch the WBBL up close again with all the progress that's been made in the game over the last three years."

Renegades, Victoria and Australia allrounder Sophie Molineux admitted it had been a shock to see Coyle leave his job.

"There's a lot going in, not just in sport, but it definitely hit home when we saw Coyley go," she said. "The last couple of years at the Renegades he's done a massive amount of work to get us into position to play in semi-finals and be really close to the grand finals.

"We'll always be thankful for what he's done. The group has definitely got some really sad emotions about him not being able to come back."

The Victoria team includes Meg Lanning and Ellyse Perry when they aren't on international duty.