Shelley Nitschke appointed head coach of Australian women's team

Cricket Australia announced the appointment of Shelley Nitschke as the women’s national team’s head coach, and she will take the role for the next four years. After Matthew Mott moved to England in May, the 45-year-old was chosen interim head coach, and during the period guided the Australian side to a tri-series win in Ireland and also winning a gold at the Commonwealth Games 2022.

Nitschke, who had been Australia's assistant coach since 2018, had been the front-runner for the full-time role. One of the best all-rounders in the world, Nitschke made her Australian debut in 2004 at the age of 28 and went on to appear in 80 ODIs, 36 T20Is, and six Tests. Nitschke is presently the head coach of the Perth Scorchers in the WBBL, a post she also held when working for her country.

She will continue her association with the team till the end of the upcoming season before ending her stint and getting into the role with the national team. Following her retirement from international cricket in 2011, Nitschke has held several coaching positions as she has been with South Australia, the Adelaide Strikers, and Cricket Australia.

“I'm honored to have been given this opportunity to lead the team full-time and to continue to build on the legacy created by Matthew Mott. While I enjoyed my time working as an assistant coach, I feel the time is right to step up and lead this group in what's shaping as a new era with a new-look coaching group and the retirement of Rachael Haynes,” Nitschke said.

“The loss of Rach will no doubt be felt, but it presents a great opportunity for others to put their hands up both from a leadership perspective as well as with the bat and in the field. Our challenge is to ensure the team continues to evolve; we've seen teams like India take their game to the next level and it's important that the players feel they have the support they need to keep getting better every day,” she added.

Our team continues to go from strength to strength: Nitschke

The composition of Nitschke's support team is pending confirmation. The T20I tour of India, which is scheduled for December, will be Nitschke's first undertaking as the team's new head coach. Australia will play Pakistan at home in January before traveling to South Africa as the defending champions for the ICC T20 Women's World Cup.

“Our team continues to go from strength to strength and I'm excited to see what this group can achieve next; there's some important cricket on the horizon including the ICC Women's T20 World Cup in February and away Ashes next winter, so it's a great time to be involved,” she concluded.