The Melbourne Renegades have appointed Gavan Twining as their new head coach for the upcoming Women’s Big Bash League season. Twining is currently an assistant with the Australian women’s team and will take over from Simon Helmot. Helmot left the Renegades in April after helping the club win the WBBL 10 championship and has since moved into coaching roles in overseas franchise competitions. Twining will now begin his new role with the reigning champions.
Twining has been Australia’s fielding mentor since late 2024 and was part of the coaching staff during the team’s successful women’s T20 World Cup campaign. His national-team experience will now be brought into the Renegades environment. He will also reunite with national captain Sophie Molineux and allrounder Georgia Wareham, who are both part of the Melbourne squad. Twining said he is looking forward to helping the players improve and build on their success.
“The Renegades have a strong foundation and a talented squad and I’m looking forward to helping the players take the next step and build on the success the club has had,” Twining said.
Twining also wants to bring lessons from his time with Australia into his new role. Working with the national team has given him experience of preparing players for major tournaments. He believes those experiences can help the Renegades continue their positive work at Melbourne. His focus will be on helping the players improve during the WBBL season.
“Having been part of the Australian team’s World Cup campaign, I’m excited to bring those experiences into the Renegades environment and help produce performances that our members and fans can be proud of.”
Twining also has a strong background in the Big Bash and women’s domestic cricket. He previously worked as an assistant to former Sydney Sixers coach Greg Shipperd across six BBL seasons, including consecutive title-winning campaigns in BBL 09 and BBL 10. He took charge of the NSW Breakers in 2021 and led the women’s side for three seasons before accepting his role with the Australian team.
Renegades general manager Max Abbott believes Twining is the right person to lead the WBBL program. Abbott praised his international experience and said the club already has a positive environment within the squad. He believes Twining can work with the team’s experienced leaders and help continue the progress made in recent seasons. The appointment gives the Renegades a coach familiar with the current group.
“Gavan is an outstanding addition to our WBBL program, bringing World Cup-winning experience to our group,” Abbott said. “There’s already a very positive environment within the squad and we felt Gavan was the best person to continue building on that working with the experienced leaders we have in the squad.”
Twining will begin his Renegades tenure following Australia’s two white-ball series in October. Australia will play three one-day internationals against Bangladesh and three T20 internationals against New Zealand. Former Australian men’s player and Melbourne Stars quick Clint McKay will lead the Renegades during the Spring Challenge, scheduled to take place in Sydney from October 9 to October 21. Twining will then take over with the Renegades.
After the WBBL season, Twining will return to his role with the Australian women’s team. Australia are scheduled to travel to Sri Lanka in December for three ODIs. He will continue with the national side after the WBBL campaign. His appointment gives Melbourne a coach with experience in international cricket, women’s domestic cricket and the Big Bash. The Renegades will now look to Twining to build on their championship success and make another strong push in the WBBL.
