Photo Credit: Melbourne Stars
The Melbourne Stars are thrilled to announce the signing of Jonathan Batty as their head coach for WBBL|08.
The former Surrey and Gloucestershire first class cricketer arrives at the Stars having coached the Oval Invincibles to the inaugural Women’s Hundred title in the UK in 2021. He is also currently the coach of the Surrey Women’s Cricket Team.
Batty started his cricketing journey as a player in 1997 where he represented Surrey for 13 seasons as a wicket-keeper batsman, including a season as captain in 2004.
He then joined Gloucestershire for 3 seasons before announcing his retirement from cricket in 2012. During his time in County Cricket, he racked up over 9,000 runs and almost 1,000 dismissals with the gloves.
Prior to his senior coaching appointment at Surrey, Batty held numerous roles within education as a teacher and director and had worked as an Assistant Coach with the Surrey Stars as well as working with England’s Under 17’s batsmen and England Women’s wicket-keepers and Head Coach of the South East Stars.
Melbourne Stars General Manager Blair Crouch welcomed the appointment:
“We look forward to welcoming Jonathan to the Stars Family for WBBL|08. Our aim every season is to play finals and we hope Jonathan can maximise the outstanding talent within our squad. The process to secure our Head Coach was a global search and Jonathan was the standout candidate from a very strong field. We haven’t played in Melbourne since 2019 and we cannot wait to get back in front of our members and fans in WBBL|08. We hope to make some more exciting announcements in the coming weeks as we continue to work to improve our squad.”
Batty is excited by the opportunity that awaits later in the year:
“Firstly, a big thank you to the Melbourne Stars for appointing me as the head coach for WBBL|08. I can’t wait to get started, having watched the competition from afar for a number of years which has been a sector leading tournament for women’s cricket globally. To be a part of a team like the Melbourne Stars, and work with such a talented squad who are led by some outstanding world class players, was a fantastic opportunity that I wanted to be a part of. I can’t wait to work with an outstanding captain in Meg Lanning, I’m looking forward to getting to Melbourne, meeting the squad, getting to know them, the fans and the city and hopefully have some success later this year.”
Batty will arrive in Melbourne in September.
The former Surrey and Gloucestershire first class cricketer arrives at the Stars having coached the Oval Invincibles to the inaugural Women’s Hundred title in the UK in 2021. He is also currently the coach of the Surrey Women’s Cricket Team.
Batty started his cricketing journey as a player in 1997 where he represented Surrey for 13 seasons as a wicket-keeper batsman, including a season as captain in 2004.
He then joined Gloucestershire for 3 seasons before announcing his retirement from cricket in 2012. During his time in County Cricket, he racked up over 9,000 runs and almost 1,000 dismissals with the gloves.
Prior to his senior coaching appointment at Surrey, Batty held numerous roles within education as a teacher and director and had worked as an Assistant Coach with the Surrey Stars as well as working with England’s Under 17’s batsmen and England Women’s wicket-keepers and Head Coach of the South East Stars.
