Capri Global Holdings Private Limited, owners of the Lucknow franchise in the inaugural Womens Premier League (WPL) on Friday announced the side has been named as “UP Warriorz”.
Jon Lewis, currently the head coach of the England women’s team, has been appointed as the head coach of the team. Former India women’s captain Anju Jain will be the assistant coach.
Former Australia men’s cricketer Ashley Noffke is the bowling coach, while Lisa Sthalekar, the four-time World Cup winner with the Australian women’s team in ODIs and T20Is, will be playing the mentor’s role in the side.
The 47-year old Lewis was the bowling coach for the England men’s team in 2021, and worked with an elite group of bowlers in Jofra Archer, Mark Wood and Ben Stokes during his stint with the national men’s team. He played 16 times for England men’s team apart from representing Gloucestershire, Surrey and Sussex in County Cricket.
“I am delighted to be part of the Capri Global Holdings Private Limited family with the UP Warriorz and expect this 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. 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 said in a media release.
Anju holds the distinction of being the first Indian women’s cricketer to represent the country in four ODI World Cups in an international career from 1993 to 2005. She was also India women’s head coach from 2011 to 2013 and has coached Odisha, Tripura, Assam, Vidarbha and Baroda teams at domestic level.
The former wicket keeper-batter was the coach for the Tornadoes, who won their first title in the 2022 edition of the FairBreak Invitational T20 competition. She has also been the head coach for the Bangladesh women’s cricket team from 2018 to 2020, in a coaching career that has spanned over 12 years.
Meanwhile, Noffke coached Brisbane Heat to the knockout stages of four consecutive editions of the Women’s Big Bash League (WBBL) in Australia, winning the title in 2019 and will also coach London Spirit in women’s edition of the Hundred in the next two seasons.
“We believe in the huge potential of women’s cricket in India. While this is our fourth professional sports team, I believe we have just started this journey, and look forward to making significant strides. We want the team to be a source of inspiration for young women cricketers and the people in one of India’s biggest and most beautiful states, Uttar Pradesh.”
We at UP Warriorz are delighted to be associated with names like Head Coach Jon Lewis and Anju Jain. Both are established figures in terms of leadership and bring to the table a wealth of cricketing experience, which will help guide a new team,” said Rajesh Sharma, Managing Director, Capri Global Holdings Private Limited.
The inaugural edition of Women’s Premier League is set to be played in Mumbai from March 4-26. A total of 22 matches will be played with the Brabourne Stadium & DY Patil Stadium playing hosts to the marquee tournament. The Player Auction for the WPL will be held in Mumbai on February 13.