Former Australian batter Leah Poulton appointed managing director of England Women

File photo: Leah Poulton played 90 times for Australia across all formats before retiring in 2015. | Photo Credit: Getty Images

Former Australian cricketer Leah Poulton has been appointed as the managing director of England Women, the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) announced on Wednesday.

She succeeds Clare Connor, who announced earlier this year that she would be leaving the ECB after a career spanning 18 years.

Poulton, a batter who played 90 times for Australia before retiring in 2015, spent the past six years as Head of Elite Female Cricket at Cricket New South Wales (NSW). Before that, she spent three years at Cricket Australia as a High Performance Coach.

In her new role, she will be responsible for the senior women’s team, England women’s A, England women's Under-19s, and the overall effectiveness and reputation of the women’s high-performance system.

Speaking on her appointment, Leah Poulton said, “I’m incredibly excited and honoured to be joining England and to have the opportunity to help shape our programmes and, most importantly, invest in our people.”

“I’m looking forward to working with Charlotte Edwards, Nat Sciver-Brunt, and the wider team, building on the strong foundations already in place and taking the programme forward,” she added.