Former England international Becky Grundy appointed Perth Scorchers head coach

Grundy, who has served as an assistant coach with the WBBL side for the past three seasons, replaces Shelley Nitschke

Former England international Becky Grundy has been appointed head coach of WBBL side Perth Scorchers.

The 32-year-old, who has served as an assistant coach with the Scorchers for the past three seasons, has signed a two-year contract.

She replaces Shelley Nitschke, who is now head coach of Australia Women.

Grundy played seven ODIs and 12 T20Is for England between 2014 and 2016, taking 15 wickets, and also represented Warwickshire, Loughborough Lightning, South Western Districts and Perth Scorchers, taking five WBBL wickets.

As a coach, she worked as a development coach within the Western Australia set-up before being appointed head coach ahead of the 2020/21 Women's National Cricket League season. She will combine her role with Western Australia with her WBBL commitments.

^{Grundy made 19 white-ball appearances for England [Julian Herbert/Getty Images]}

^{Grundy was an assistant coach when Perth Scorchers won the WBBL [Paul Kane/Getty Images]}

"I am absolutely delighted to be taking on the role as head coach of the Perth Scorchers WBBL program and I am very keen to get started," Grundy said. "To be involved in such a successful franchise and continue my growth as a coach and as a person is a really exciting opportunity for me.

"We've got a hungry and talented list, and we're driven to achieve long-term success for the club.

"Shelley (Nitschke) has been a wonderful mentor to me, and I have learnt so much from her. I can't wait to build on all her hard work and have more success with this amazing club."

General manager, Kade Harvey, added: "We are thrilled to announce Becky as head coach of our WBBL program for the next two seasons. She has been a crucial part of our club as an assistant coach, and we have no doubt that she is ready to take the next step in her coaching journey.

"We've been incredibly lucky to have someone of Shelley's calibre, and we thank her for her contribution to the franchise in her three seasons as head coach - which included bringing home our first WBBL title."