The Hundred | Shane Warne to coach Lord's-based franchise
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Shane Warne has been named as the head coach for the Lord's-based franchise 'The Hundred' for the next year's competition. While Warne joined Simon Katich (Manchester) & Andrew McDonald (Birmingham) as coaches to be named in The Hundred, Lisa Keightley took over the same role with the women's team.
The legendary leg-spinner has adequate experience as the coach of several teams in the past and had already worked as player cum coach for Rajasthan Royals and also led them to the title in the inaugural edition of the Indian Premier League. Now, he joins his former teammates Simon Katich (Manchester) and Andrew McDonald (Birmingham) as head coaches to be named in The Hundred.
"I'm very proud and very honoured to be asked to be the head coach of The Hundred team based at Lord's. The opportunity to coach in a brand-new tournament and work with modern-day players is something that I will really enjoy and I am looking forward to the challenge. This tournament will unearth some heroes and hopefully some future World Cup stars for England and other countries," Warne said, reported the Guardian.
"I always want to be ahead of the curve because cricket benefits from innovation and that was the case in 2008 with the IPL, when I was captain-coach of the Rajasthan Royals. I love the concept of The Hundred and it has grabbed my attention in the same way the IPL did. We built a team from scratch with a diverse range of players from different backgrounds and ages and I can't wait to build the same mix of players to entertain the fans who come down to Lord's for The Hundred."
Meanwhile, former Australian women's team head coach, Lisa Keightley has become the first female coach to be named in The Hundred. Apart from managing Australian women's team, Keightley has coached Western Australia and Perth Scorchers in the Women's Big Bash League in the past.
"It is an honour to be appointed as the first female coach for The Hundred and to be a part of a tournament that is set to showcase the best women's players from around the world," she said. "I thoroughly enjoyed my time as a coach in England and the prestige and opportunity of this role made it an easy decision for me to come back."
The Lord's-based franchise will comprise players from Middlesex, Essex, Northamptonshire and MCC.
