Women’s Premier League: Lucknow franchise named UP Warriorz; Jon Lewis, Lisa Sthalekar named in support staff

Women’s Premier League: UP Warriorz has named Jon Lewis as head coach, Anju Jain as assistant coach, Ashley Noffke as bowling coach and Lisa Sthalekar as team mentor.

Jon Lewis, Anju Jain and Ashley Noffke will be part of the UP Warriorz coaching team for the inuagural WPL edition.

The Lucknow franchise in the Women’s Premier League (WPL) has been officially named UP Warriorz.

The team also announced its support staff on Friday. Former England cricketer Jon Lewis appointed as the Head Coach of the team, while Arjuna Awardee (2005) Anju Jain will be the Assistant Coach. Former Australian cricketer Ashley Noffke is the Bowling Coach. Meanwhile, playing the mentor’s role for the UP Warriorz will be the 4-time World Champion with Australia Lisa Sthalekar.  

Lewis, the current Head Coach of the England Women’s Cricket Team, is vastly experienced and has bagged more than 1200 wickets in over 500 games, internationally and domestically. Well known in the English county circuit, 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 team.  

“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. 

Anju, who holds the distinction of being the first Indian Women cricketer to represent the country in four ODI World Cups, was the coach for the Tornadoes, who won their first title in the 2022 edition of the FairBreak Invitational T20. The former wicketkeeper batter has also been the head coach for the Bangladesh Women’s cricket team in a coaching career that has spanned over 12 years.    

“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 franchise, owned by Capri Global Private Limited for a successful bid of INR 757 CR, is one among five teams which will participate in the inaugural edition of the WPL.

The Women’s Premier League is set to be played in Mumbai from 4th – 26th March, 2023. 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 13th February.