Leah Poulton Appointed England Women’s Managing Director

The England and Wales Cricket Board has appointed Leah Poulton as managing director of England women, with the former Australia batter due to begin work in November. BBC Sport reported that Poulton will succeed Clare Connor in the senior leadership role overseeing the women’s international programme.

Watch the highlights:

Poulton, 42, represented Australia 90 times during her playing career before moving into coaching and administration. Her experience includes assistant coaching roles with Sydney Thunder and Sydney Sixers in the Women’s Big Bash League, along with work at Cricket New South Wales as a pathway manager and assistant coach for the NSW Breakers.

She later served as a high-performance coach at Cricket Australia. For the past six years, Poulton has been head of elite female cricket at Cricket NSW, giving her responsibility within the development and performance structure of the women’s game in New South Wales.

The ECB said Poulton will be accountable for the performances of England women, England women A and England women under-19s. Her remit also covers the overall effectiveness and reputation of the women’s high-performance system, placing the senior team and the pathway beneath it within the scope of her new position.

Poulton will work closely with England head coach Charlotte Edwards and captain Nat Sciver-Brunt. According to the ECB, that group will be expected to establish a unified vision designed to help England women achieve consistent success at international level. Poulton said she wants to build on the programme’s existing foundations while investing in its people.

The incoming managing director also highlighted the importance of strong player pathways and a healthy domestic game to sustained results. She said she plans to connect with people across English cricket and help create opportunities for the next generation of players. Her appointment comes before England host Australia in a women’s Ashes series next summer, with Poulton set to take up the post months before that contest.