Lisa Keightley, former Australian batswomen, has been appointed as the first full-time female head coach of England Women's team by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB), on Wednesday (October 30).

The 48-year-old Keightley, who previously coached Australia Women and England Women's Academy between 2011 and 2015, replaces Mark Robinson and will begin working with the squad in January.

Keightley, who played nine Tests and 82 one-day internationals for Australia, is currently the head coach of Perth Scorchers in the Women's Big Bash League and Western Australia in domestic competition and she will leave the current roles at the end of the year to take up her new post in January.

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Managing Director of Women's Cricket, Clare Connor, said of Keightley’s signing: “Lisa was the stand-out candidate from a varied and highly talented group of applicants.”

Connor continued, “The interview panel [Jonathan Finch, Connor, John Neal, and Tom Harrison] were unanimously impressed by Lisa's demonstration of her suitability for the role, her impressive knowledge of the game and her passion for coaching and developing players. She outlined clear plans as to how she believes she can take the team and this group of players forward.”

Meanwhile, the Australian is excited to join the pool of world-class players at the England side and is looking forward to the huge opportunity.

Keightley said, “I’m massively excited. It’s a huge opportunity. It’s a team full of world-class players and to be given the chance to work with some of the players who I worked with a few years ago is really exciting. I can’t wait to get started and see where we can get to.”

She signed off by saying, “England are the current 50-over world champions, and they made it to the final of the last ICC Women’s T20 World Cup. They’re a very competitive side, and they wouldn’t be in big matches like that if they didn’t have a really strong group of players who can perform on the big stage. I’m really looking forward to getting underway and helping the team progress.”

(With Sky Sports Inputs)