Jonathan Batty, appointed as Melbourne Stars head coach after leading the Oval Invincibles to The Hundred (Women’s) title, has mutually parted ways with the club following a three-season stint. During his tenure, the Stars went from bad to worse, dropping from a 6th-place finish in 2022 to an 8th-place finish in the ongoing 10th edition of the competition.
In 2022, the Stars finished 6th with 5 wins and 6 losses from 14 games. While Batty would have relied on their star player, Meg Lanning, to carry the batting load, the top-order batter opted out of the tournament, marking an unideal start for Batty.
The following season, Lanning featured in only a few games before also opting out, as the Stars finished 7th with 8 losses and just 6 wins. Hoping for a turnaround with the appointment of Annabel Sutherland as full-time captain, the Stars instead found themselves at the bottom of the table in the 10th edition, finishing 8th with just 2 wins and 7 losses from 10 matches in a shortened season.
Batty admitted to the squad’s strengths and shortcomings, stating, “We feel like the list is in a position to achieve success and ultimately, we have again fallen short of making the WBBL finals. The group worked really hard. There was a huge level of expectation on the side we have got here, and we have underperformed.
“You make your own luck, and we haven’t played well enough. We missed quite a few catches and run outs as well, and those times when you need a partnership to build, we have given away a wicket or two easily and cheaply.”
The Stars had a losing start to this season but quickly bounced back with back-to-back wins before finding themselves in a six-match losing streak, which Batty acknowledged as hard to break. He said, “You get into a losing cycle and it’s very difficult to break that.”
As Batty’s contract expired at the end of this season, it is understood that he mutually opted not to negotiate a new deal with the Stars. The club is now in the process of scouting for a new head coach to lead the team moving forward. This also means that the team will be without a head coach in the forthcoming 10-day trading window, where clubs can trade players for an immediate fix.
Notably, Batty led the Oval Invincibles to The Hundred (Women’s) glory in the inaugural season of 2021, and the team successfully defended their title the following year. Although they slipped to 5th place in the next season, Batty helped guide them to a strong recovery with a 2nd-place finish this year. In India’s Women’s Premier League, Batty, alongside Meg Lanning, has steered Delhi Capitals to consecutive final appearances.
(Quotes sourced from cricket.com.au)
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