The Hobart Hurricanes have bolstered their coaching ranks ahead of their WBBL title defence, with experienced coach Courtney Winfield-Hill joining the club as an assistant for the upcoming season.
Winfield-Hill brings a wealth of experience across the international and domestic cricket landscape, adding another highly regarded cricket mind to the Hurricanes' coaching group as they look to build on last summer's historic championship success.
The Australian-born former cricketer has built an impressive coaching resume, including roles with England Women, Brisbane Heat, Trent Rockets and Royal Challengers Bengaluru.
Her appointment marks a return to cricket coaching following the birth of her first child, Margot, with the opportunity emerging during one of those familiar late-night stretches of new parenthood.
"It's all been pretty quick actually,” Winfield-Hill said. “Obviously, living in the UK now, and I had one of those runs through the night with the baby, and you wake up to a message with an opportunity, so pretty exciting, especially given this is the first time back into coaching since I've had the little one.
“There's lots of exciting elements to it, reconnecting with former teammate Jude Coleman, and obviously Sall being from Yorkshire, where I now reside.
“The Hurricanes portray this incredibly inclusive family, supportive environment. Now I sit with a mum hat on as well, I'm just really grateful that Margot gets to share this as well.”
Winfield-Hill said she had admired the Hurricanes' approach during their championship-winning campaign.
“Watching from more of a neutral seat last year, the way that the girls played and took on the competition, I could watch it from an entertainment point of view and it was exactly that,” she said.
“I thought it was very fitting that they actually went on to win it.
“I was really happy for Jude and the girls last year, and I get to be a part of it this year. Obviously it’s a different group, different year, but still looking for the same trophies.”
Winfield-Hill's appointment completes the Hurricanes' coaching group, joining head coach Jude Coleman, bowling coach Kristen Beams and batting coach Mark McInnes.
Cricket Tasmania's Head of High Performance, Salliann Beams, said Winfield-Hill's appointment was an exciting addition as the Hurricanes prepare for the challenge of defending their title.
“Courtney brings an enormous amount of experience and cricket knowledge to our program, and we're really excited about what she can add to the group,” Beams said.
“She's worked in high-performance environments and understands what it takes to get the best out of players, both individually and collectively.
“Winning a championship is an incredible achievement, but defending one presents a completely different challenge. We know the competition will be coming hard at us this summer, so it's important we continue to evolve and find ways to improve.
“Having someone of Courtney's calibre join our coaching group will bring fresh ideas, a different perspective and valuable experience as we look to build on what we achieved last season.”
The Hurricanes will begin their WBBL title defence on Thursday against the Melbourne Stars at Junction Oval.
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