Lisa Keightley left Wednesday’s Women’s Hundred auction reasonably content with MI London’s picks – she would still like one more destructive batter – yet a different gap bothered her far more. In a room full of coaches and owners, Keightley was the only female head coach across the eight teams.
“It’s really changing fast, isn’t it? And I suppose the three powerhouses – India, England, and Australia – having a very competitive T20 competitions – it’s really driving the women’s space and the pay equity,” she said afterwards. “We’re not there, but it’s moving and it’s moving pretty fast, so that’s really good.
“The only thing I’m disappointed in is I look around the room and I’m the only female head coach. So for me, waving the flag and hopefully as we move into cricket, we get a few more female head coaches here.”
Keightley’s comments came after a record-breaking set of bids – figures unthinkable when the tournament started six summers ago – yet her focus kept returning to representation. “In saying that, we’ve got a few coaching internationally and I’m really hoping that a lot of the staff have female coaches within their coaching set-up, so from that point of view, it’s moving quick, but looking around being the only female coach, that’s a bit disappointing to be totally honest.”
One glance around Piccadilly Circus’s makeshift bidding pit underlined her point. Former England wicketkeeper Sarah Taylor was present, but only as an assistant with Manchester Super Giants. Anya Shrubsole held the same rank at Southern Brave. Both possess impressive playing CVs; both are steadily working through the coaching badges. Neither, yet, has been asked to take the top job.
Taylor recently told the Powerplay podcast: “There’s a head coach role for me at some point. I’m not there yet, absolutely not there yet. Whether it’s in the men’s or women’s game, who knows?”
Shrubsole, meanwhile, already has a winner’s medal as bowling coach with Royal Challengers Bangalore in the WPL, adding to time spent as a player-coach under Charlotte Edwards at Southern Vipers. Still, the overriding pattern is clear: assistants plentiful, head coaches scarce.
Experience, but few opportunities
Keightley’s own résumé stretches across hemispheres. She has led England, Australia’s pathways, Perth Scorchers, Sydney Thunder, Delhi Capitals, Mumbai Indians and, most recently, Northern Superchargers, steering them to last year’s title before the club’s re-brand to Superchargers Leeds. If anyone is qualified to advise the next wave, it is her.
“As females, you always think you’re not ready and you’re happy to be an assistant, but I think the only way you get in there and do it is if you get the opportunity, take it, get in there, do it,” she said. “If someone says they want you to be a head coach, don’t think you’re not ready. You’ve got to jump at the chance, be brave and back yourself and put good people around you and you’ll be fine.”
Simple words, harder in practice. Even with increased salaries – the top bracket now clears six figures for the first time – coaching pipelines remain thin. Many retired internationals head straight for broadcast work or franchise leagues abroad; fewer commit to the long slog of level-three and level-four courses, academy winters and county miles. Boards, too, still tend to default to former male pros.
Where next?
ECB officials insist they are aware of the imbalance. The board subsidised several places for women on last winter’s Advanced Coaching Programme and introduced mentoring links between county women’s teams and Hundred franchises. Yet the proof, Keightley argues, will be a visible shift at future auctions – not another year where she stands alone.
There are cautious positives. The WPL, now into its third season, has promoted former players to senior roles more quickly than most men’s tournaments did at the same age. England’s domestic set-up has doubled full-time coaching posts since 2023, and the Professional Cricketers’ Association has ring-fenced funds for female coaching internships.
Still, the headline number from Wednesday was one. One woman leading a team. It is, on the one hand, progress from the days when no women sat in those seats at all. On the other, it is an uncomfortable reminder of how far there is to travel.
Keightley – calm, pragmatic, not prone to grandstanding – summed up the mood as she packed her notes. “It will take time,” she admitted, “but you’ve got to start somewhere. Hopefully next year I’m not saying the same thing.”
