Lisa Keightley departs as England women aim for a rebuild

Australian veteran and England women's head coach Lisa Keightley is all set to step down from her position after a tenure of almost three years. Keightley was appointed in late 2019 and took charge in January 2020, after the departures of Mark Robinson and Alastair Maiden, respectively.

Keightley, who is the first woman to score a century at Lord's, came in with some experience of being in this role. She had coached Perth Scorchers in the Women's Big Bash League (WBBL) and been at the England Women's Academy also.

Besides, as a player, Keightley scored more than 2,500 runs in 78 innings for Australia in WODIs, including four centuries and 21 fifties.

Lisa Keightley was a part of the English set-up during the 2020 Women's T20 World Cup in Australia, the 2022 Women's Cricket World Cup, and the 2022 Birmingham Commonwealth Games. England, however, always ended up being number two or lesser than that during her tenure.

In the 2020 T20 World Cup, England managed to get as far as the semi-finals only. The game was washed out due to rain and India advanced into the final after finishing top of Group A.

In the 2022 Women's CWC, England endured a few disappointments. They lost against West Indies, South Africa, and finally against Australia, in the ultimate fixture.

Lastly, the 2022 Commonwealth Games campaign was the most disheartening for the side. In the absence of Heather Knight, England weren't even the third-best at home. They lost to India in the first semi-final and then to New Zealand in the bronze-medal play-off.

However, it was all about getting back together before the India series arrived. Nat Sciver, the stand-in skipper, took a break from cricket. Amy Jones got the captain's gloves and led her side to a 2-1 victory in the three-match T20I series.

However, in the ODI series, India not only defeated England but registered a 3-0 whitewash.

England are scheduled to play the women's Ashes after the women's T20 World Cup in June 2023. The series will comprise a five-day Test match at Trent Bridge. The side has not won an Ashes titles since 2015.

Lisa Keightley with England so far

Despite a title-less tenure, several youngsters made their way to the English team during Lisa Keightley's time. Sophia Dunkley, Issy Wong, Alice Capsey, Lauren Bell, and Freya Kemp are a few of those recent entrants.

After a disappointing summer, Keightley chose not to extend her contract as head coach. Along with her, senior assistant Tim Macdonald too left the English women's set-up after the 2022 Commonwealth Games.

Lisa Keightley was with England during the hardest times, particularly during the COVID-19 schedules, when the players had to endure mental fatigue. The 50-year-old herself could barely visit her family back in Australia at the time.

For now, several England players will be heading to Australia for the upcoming WBBL. The side will then play the T20 WC in South Africa. They will face West Indies Women to kickstart another quest for an international title, with a new head coach.

Who could replace Lisa Keightley?

With T20 WC and the Ashes at home arriving very soon, England are now set to search for a new head coach.

The name of Charlotte Edwards, one of the greats of English women's cricket, has been doing the rounds. But she played down the idea as she had 'other things' to concentrate on.

Edwards will be with the Sydney Sixers in the WBBL this winter. She has also coached Southern Brave Women and Southern Vipers in the Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy.

Apart from Edwards, Jon Lewis, Gareth Breese - Lisa Keightley's assistants, Dani Hazell, Salliann Beams, and Jon Batty are likely to be in the race. Moreover, David Hemp, Caroline Foster, Lydia Greenway, and Ali Maiden are the other few names supposed to be in the running.