Paul Shaw appointed North West Thunder Head Coach

In anticipation of the new regional hub competition, the North West Hub still under the Thunder identity have appointed as their head coach Paul Shaw.

Shaw, 53, has experience in the women’s game having coached England to back to back Ashes wins and held various job titles while at the ECB. One of those roles was to turn the England side from a part-time team into a professional set-up with central contracts. He was replaced after the 2015 Ashes by Mark Robinson.

Joining Shaw in the new set up is former Leicestershire player and coach Lloyd Tennant. As a regional talent manager for the South Region Tennant has experience of working in the women’s game.

Speak of his appointment Shaw said “I am thrilled to be taking up this new role working with exciting talent from across Lancashire, Cheshire and Cumbria,”

“This is a really exciting time to be involved with women’s cricket and with the introduction of the new Elite Structure Competition there hasn’t been a better time to be a female cricketer in this country.

David Thornley the Regional Director of Women’s Cricket for the North West commenting on why Shaw was chosen for the new role said: “Paul enjoyed a highly successful stint with the ECB and has a proven track record of developing some of the best female cricketers in the country – our aim is to create a successful culture for the North West region and Paul will be a vital part of helping to establish that.”

It was also announced that the new coaching set-up would get the chance to watch players that could potentially fill their first squad with a cup competition starting on the 5th of August.

Taking part in the North West Cup will be players from Lancashire, Cheshire, and Cumbria. The team names will be Jaguars, Cheetahs and Tigers. There will be a mixture of T20 and 50 over games.

Among the players turning out is Alex Hartley who was an important part of England’s 2017 World Cup-winning side.