Former Australia wicketkeepeer Julia Price was appointed as assistant coach of the upcoming men’s Big Bash League, making her the first woman to enter the dugout in the franchise-based mega event, cricket.co.au reported on Sunday.
Price, who is currently the coach of the United States women’s team and a commentator, will be working with head coach Darren Lehmann for Brisbane Heat. Heat’s coaching staff also includes other former Australia players James Hopes and pacer Ryan Harris.
Price had previously worked in the WBBL, where she was the coach of the Hobart Hurricanes setup. She, however, stepped down after the third edition. “I’m pretty excited about that I have to admit,” Price said during the broadcast of the WBBL final. Heat claimed back-to-back titles after beating Adelaide Strikers earlier in the day.
Price added, “I’m really looking forward to the opportunity to be around the guys and seeing how they do it differently to what the girls do. Having been in the Hurricanes set up for the WBBL, it will be interesting to see how the BBL does it.
“I had a bit to do with the Hurricanes boys but this will be a completely different level now...I can learn off both the players and the coaching staff.”
The 47-year-old played 10 Tests and 84 One-day Internationals and was a part of Australia’s 1997 and 2005 World Cup campaigns.
Lehmann said: We’d been chatting about whether there were some professional development opportunities for her through her USA role and we just went from there,” Lehmann said.
“She has an excellent cricket brain and plenty of experience as a head coach, so I can see her fitting quite neatly into our set-up.”