The inaugural edition of the highly awaited, Women’s Premier League (WPL), is all set to get underway on the 4th of March and has its Final scheduled for the 26th of the month. With the tournament’s players auction now only a few days away, the Lucknow-based franchise revealed its name, logo and coaching staff.
In the WPL base auction, Capri Global Holdings Private Limited bagged the Lucknow base for 757 crores and the business house has now revealed, ‘UP Warriorz’ as their franchise name for the Women’s Premier League (WPL).
The franchise unveiled its logo as well that’s got 4 main components; a Sarus crane, sword, wings, and shield. The key element is the tallest flying bird in the world and state bird of Uttar Pradesh, the sarus crane which is a metaphor for movement, grace, balance, and reaching new heights.
The backroom staff reveal sees current England women’s team head coach, Jon Lewis appointed as the UP Warriorz head coach and he’ll have former Indian cricketer and Arjuna Awardee, Anju Jain serve as his deputy, in the role of assistant coach. While former Australian cricketer, Ashley Noffke is in as bowling coach, the 4-time World Cup winner, Lisa Sthalekar, will serve as the sides’ mentor.
𝐔𝐏 𝐖𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐢𝐨𝐫𝐳 have named Jon Lewis as the Head Coach and former India captain Anju Jain as their Assistant Coach, Lisa Sthalekar joins as Mentor. #CricketTwitter #WomensIPL pic.twitter.com/hwjNXN5xob
— Female Cricket (@imfemalecricket) February 10, 2023
Rajesh Sharma, Managing Director, Capri Global Holdings Private Limited, said, “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.”
Jon Lewis, post-retirement from domestic cricket in 2014, in the following year, was appointed as the assistant head coach at Sussex County Cricket Club. In 2016, Jon Lewis started as the bowling Coach for the England Under-19 team and then went on to take up the same role with the senior men’s team where he served under Chris Silverwood’s reign. He then was appointed to work in the player pathways with the England Lions and was soon moved to the women’s team head coach role.
Jon Lewis in a statement said, “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.
JUST IN:
Owned by Capri Global, the Lucknow franchise in the Women’s Premier League has been named 𝐔𝐏 𝐖𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐢𝐨𝐫𝐳
• Staff:
Head coach: Jon Lewis
Assistant coach: Anju Jain
Bowling coach: Ashley Noffke
Mentor: Lisa Sthalekar#CricketTwitter #WomensIPL— Female Cricket (@imfemalecricket) February 10, 2023
“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.”
Anju Jain, appeared in 8 Test matches and 65 One Day Internationals (ODIs) for India between 1993 and 2005. She featured in 4 World Cups for India and also captained the side in the 2000 World Cup. Under her coaching, Tornadoes, won the title in the maiden edition of the FairBreak Invitational T20. The former wicketkeeper batter at the domestic level has coached Odisha, Tripura, Assam, Vidarbha, and Baroda and has served as the head coach of the national women’s teams of India and Bangladesh.
Ashley Noffke began his coaching career as an assistant bowling coach with Western Australia under Mickey Arthur, before returning to Queensland (Qld) Cricket as a bowling coach for the Qld Bulls and the Brisbane Heat before being appointed the senior assistant coach. He now is the Head of Female Pathways at Queensland Cricket and Head Coach of both the Brisbane Heat and Qld Fire women’s teams. He’s had success with every team he’s coached and only recently was appointed as the head coach of the London Spirit women’s team in The Hundred for the next two editions.