Ben Sawyer, coach of the two-time Women’s Big Bash League (WBBL) winners Sydney Sixers, has been appointed as the Head Coach of the Birmingham Women’s team in The Hundred.
Sawyer, 40, is Assistant Coach and a fast bowling specialist for the Australia women’s team and has enjoyed a glittering coaching career with Sydney Sixers, having led them to all four WBBL finals and winning the competition in 2016/17 and 2017/18.
I’m very excited to be appointed as Head Coach of the Birmingham Women’s team and I’m looking forward to assembling a team that can combine global superstars with a lot of the local talent here in the West Midlands.
Ben Sawyer
“Speaking to players around the world, The Hundred is a competition that they’re all talking about and want to get involved in,” said Ben Sawyer.
“I’m very excited to be appointed as Head Coach of the Birmingham Women’s team and I’m looking forward to assembling a team that can combine global superstars with a lot of the local talent here in the West Midlands that has performed so well in the recent county women’s T20.”
Craig Flindall, Chief Operating Officer at Warwickshire CCC, said: “Ben boasts outstanding credentials as a head coach in the women’s game, with the best win percentage of any coach operating in international T20s, the Kia Super League and the WBBL.
“He’s widely respected by players and fellow coaches around the world and he was the standout candidate throughout the comprehensive recruitment process that we undertook.
“We’re thrilled to welcome him as our Head Coach of the Birmingham team.”
Matt Rawnsley, Chief Executive of Worcestershire County Cricket Club, said “Having someone of Ben’s calibre and experience leading the women’s team is great news, and will be an important factor in attracting the best players to the Birmingham Team.”
Sanjay Patel, Managing Director of The Hundred said, “It is great to welcome Ben to The Hundred. He is another strong coach for the women’s tournament who can help develop players and create a high-performance environment for our female players.”
The Hundred is a new and exciting 100-ball format that is set to launch in July next year with the men’s and women’s tournaments to run concurrently over a five-week period.
The tournament is set to attract some of the world’s best players and will be broadcast live on Sky Sports and free-to-air on the BBC with eight city-based clubs, from Manchester, Leeds, Nottingham, Birmingham, Cardiff, Southampton and two in London (Lord’s and the Oval).
The men’s Player Draft is set to provide an historic occasion for British sport when it is the first major draft to be held in this country on Sunday, October 20.
It will be shown live by Sky Sports with extensive coverage across the BBC.
