Hazell and Lehmann appointed coaches

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Danielle Hazell and Darren Lehmann have been appointed as Head Coaches for the Leeds-based team for The Hundred.

The former World Cup winning coach and player Lehmann will return to the north, where he is much loved after being a key part of Yorkshire’s 2001 Specsavers County Championship winning side – their first title for 33 years. Lehmann scored more than 14,000 runs during 10 seasons at Emerald Headingley.

Durham-born Hazell represented Durham and Yorkshire across a hugely successful playing career during which she won the Ashes three times and was a part of the successful 2017 ICC Women’s World Cup-winning squad. She is the current coach of Yorkshire Diamonds in the Kia Super League.

Lehmann said: “It is going to be special to get back up north where I have so many good memories from my playing days. To go back there to coach in The Hundred is exciting and hopefully we can have some success.

“I know how passionate the fans are and they will demand that we play an entertaining brand of cricket and win. You expect that when you know the proud tradition of both Yorkshire and Durham. We want to bring in some of the best players in the world and if those players can get it right on the pitch then the competition can go through the roof.”

Hazell played her final England international in last November’s ICC Women’s World T20 final in Antigua before retiring in January and turning to coaching.

Hazell said: “Things have happened pretty quickly in my coaching career but you have to take the bull by the horns and enjoy the opportunities that come your way and make the most of them.

“It’s exciting to be involved in a massive step forward for women’s domestic cricket. This can push the game forward. After spending my career travelling around the world it is great to be back in the north and putting something back into the region and the game.”

Sanjay Patel, Managing Director of the Hundred, said: “We are really pleased to welcome another World Cup winning coach to The Hundred. It is also great to see an opportunity for a former World Cup winning cricketer to showcase her coaching credentials in the competition.”

Mark Arthur, Yorkshire Chief Executive, said: “We were unanimous from the start, both Tim Bostock and myself, having discussed things with Martyn Moxon and Marcus North, about the two head coaches.

“Firstly, with Dani we’ve seen very early signs about the qualities that she will bring to The Hundred from the work that she has been doing with the Yorkshire Diamonds. That comes on the back of a great international career, being a local girl and having represented Yorkshire; she was the ideal candidate. She will bring great enthusiasm and knowledge of the game to The Hundred.

“Darren is a world class coach with a fantastic track record. As a player, he was regarded as one of our own. Some of the skill sets he will bring to The Hundred will stand us in very good stead. Darren has been adopted by Yorkshire and is well respected in Durham as well."

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.