WPL: England’s Jon Lewis ‘learning’ from Australia’s Alyssa Healy before Ashes

England coach Jon Lewis says he is learning from Australia captain Alyssa Healy at the Women’s Premier League, less than a year away from the Ashes.

The women’s Ashes in Australia take place in early 2025, with the men’s version under way later that year.

“We spar a lot about England-Australia,” Lewis told BBC Sport. “I’ll be taking quite a lot of learnings from the work that I do here with Alyssa.”

Lewis and Healy worked together in last year’s inaugural season of the WPL, before the women’s Ashes that took place in the English summer.

Wicketkeeper Healy led Australia in that series after former captain Meg Lanning’s withdrawal from the Australia side. The series was drawn 8-8, as England competed strongly with the best team in the world.

Lanning has since retired from international cricket, with Healy becoming skipper on a permanent basis. All-rounder Tahlia McGrath, the Australia vice-captain, is also with Lewis at the Warriorz.

“I learnt a lot last year and I think that really helped us in the Ashes last summer,” said former England seamer Lewis. “I’m really fortunate to have the Australia captain and vice-captain in this group.

“It’s nice to get a bit of insight into them. Of course, they are getting insight into how I do things.

“I would coach a little differently in this franchise than what I would with England. As a coach, you have to flex your style to suit the group of people you’re with. My sense is I am learning more about them than they are learning about me.”

Last year’s women’s Ashes in the UK attracted a record-breaking total attendance of 110,000 across the Test match, three T20s and three one-day internationals.

Next year, the women’s Ashes will be held at a separate time to the men’s for the first time since England won the women’s version down under in 2008.

“I hope Cricket Australia are able to put on as good a show as we did in England and get people in the grounds,” said 48-year-old Lewis.

“I hope we get really good crowds and the Australians turn out to support their team. Hopefully we get a few England fans out there, maybe a few of the Barmy Army supporting the women as well as they do the men.”

Lewis will leave the Warriorz early in order to link up with England for their tour of New Zealand.

That series has been arranged for some time, but the late scheduling of the WPL resulted in a clash. The final in India on 17 March is only two days before the first T20 between New Zealand and England in Dunedin.

Though Lewis is due to join England from 12 March, four players – Nat Sciver-Brunt, Alice Capsey, Sophie Ecclestone and Danielle Wyatt – have opted to remain at the WPL and miss the first three T20s in the five-match series. Two other England players at the WPL, Issy Wong and Kate Cross, are not currently in England’s T20 plans.

“For players that were already contracted here, we left them to decide what they wanted to do and how they wanted to go about it,” said Lewis. “We were really open to players missing the start of the New Zealand series.

“What we weren’t prepared to do was bring in players ad hoc, so that players we were giving opportunities to in the early part of the New Zealand series were always looking over their shoulder thinking ‘if they get knocked out of the WPL, is my position in danger?’

“That side was set in stone for the first three games. I’m really strong on growing the depth of our squad, so this is an ideal opportunity to do that.”