England coach Jon Lewis is gaining valuable insights from Australia captain Alyssa Healy as they team up at the Women’s Premier League, just ahead of the upcoming Ashes series. The women’s Ashes is set to take place in early 2025, following the men’s version later that year.
“We spar a lot about England-Australia,” Lewis shared with BBC Sport. “I’ll be taking quite a lot of learnings from the work that I do here with Alyssa.”
Lewis and Healy previously collaborated in the inaugural season of the WPL, which preceded the women’s Ashes in the English summer. Healy led Australia in that series, which ended in a drawn result as England put up a strong competition against the world’s best team.
With former captain Meg Lanning retiring from international cricket, Healy has taken on the role of skipper permanently. All-rounder Tahlia McGrath, who serves as Australia’s vice-captain, also joins Lewis at the Warriorz.
During last year’s women’s Ashes in the UK, a record-breaking attendance of 110,000 fans was witnessed across various formats of the game. Next year, the women’s and men’s Ashes will be held separately for the first time since England emerged victorious in the women’s series in 2008.
As Lewis prepares to depart the Warriorz early to join England for their tour of New Zealand, he emphasized the importance of increasing the depth of the squad. Some players, including Nat Sciver-Brunt and Sophie Ecclestone, have opted to stay at the WPL, missing the initial T20 matches against New Zealand.
With a focus on nurturing and expanding the squad’s talent pool, Lewis aims to cultivate a strong foundation for England’s future success in cricket, both domestically and on the international stage.