Shelley Nitschke, former Australia allrounder and current assistant coach of the Australian team, is set to take over as head coach of Perth Scorchers in the next season of the Women’s Big Bash League.
One of Australia’s greatest allrounders, Nitschke played 122 internationals, taking 153 wickets and scoring 3,118 runs across formats. Having started off as a bowler, the left-arm spinner redefined her game, turning herself into one of the team’s most attacking batters at the top of the order. She was also named ICC Women’s Cricketer of the Year in 2010.
“I think I’m in a really fortunate position at the moment, I get to see the T20 games at both the national and domestic level and the skill set that is required to be successful in this format,” Nitschke said.
“Hopefully I can pass on some of that knowledge to the team.”
“I will be looking to build on the great work Lisa (Keightley) has done with the Scorchers. They had a great 2019 WBBL season, making the semi-finals, so I will look at where we can get better to go the next step in the competition.”
“Lisa has always spoken very highly of the WACA so I’m really looking forward to working with a new group of players and support staff, and Perth is a great place.”
“We are very excited for Shelley to join the Perth Scorchers,” Kade Harvey, WACA General Manager – high performance, said. “Shelley is a perfect fit for our group with her experience as a former Australian player and works with the current Australian women’s team as an assistant coach.”
“Shelley has forged a respected career as a high-performance coach and we look forward to her taking the team forward for the 2020 WBBL season and beyond,” he concluded.
An ardent cricket admirer who grew up watching a lot of cricket. She loves reading up articles for breakfast, prefers match discussions at lunch and finishes by analyzing games for dinner. A person who views sports as a metaphor of life.
