Jonathan Batty is the new Head Coach of Surrey Women, combining this role with the Head Coach position at The Hundred side Oval Invincibles.
Former Surrey captain & wicketkeeper batsman Batty has been a coach with Surrey Women for the last two seasons having previously worked with Surrey Stars in 2018. In 2020, he was the Interim Head Coach of South East Stars, the regional side representing Surrey & Kent.
Now a full-time Geography teacher & Head of Cricket at Caterham School, Batty will work closely with the best players in Surrey & oversee the county side in their T20 & 50-over programmes early in the summer.
Recently Batty was also confirmed as the new Head Coach of the Oval Invincibles, set to play in the inaugural edition of The Hundred between July 21st & August 21st this year.
On his new position with Surrey Women, Batty said: “It’s really exciting. In the last couple of years I’ve been involved with various different roles so now to be Head Coach has sort of completed a full circle really.
“The future of women’s county cricket is pivotal in terms of supplying the right quality of players to the regional teams. A key marker of our success will be supporting the development of players and passing them on up the chain but within that, there are a lot of players whose main focus will be playing as well as they possibly can at county level.
“That’s why to be successful there will have to be a combination of winning games and developing players.”
With the new regional structure of women’s cricket now up and running, many of the players in the Surrey Women squad will be looking to represent South East Stars in the 50-over Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy & the Regional T20 Competition.
Batty expects to work closely with South East Stars staff, including Regional Director Richard Bedbrook & Head Coach Johann Myburgh, to ensure players receive the best support possible whether they are with Surrey, South East Stars or Oval Invincibles. In fact, he has already spent some time supporting the Stars on their winter programme.
“The more time I spend with the South East Stars and especially the Surrey players in that group, the more I can support that development when they come back to the Surrey team. That’s going to help the team and the players themselves,” said Batty.
“It’s really important we’re all working together across the region to challenge and support the players as much as we can.”
Having been a key player in Surrey’s men’s squad between 1997 and 2009, Batty has seen a lot of change at The Kia Oval and more widely across the county since his early days in the game. Not least in women’s cricket.
He said: “When I was a player we knew very little about the women’s structure, not just at Surrey but with England too. It was vital since then that Surrey made the long-term commitment to giving women’s players the opportunities that they have and I’m proud of the way the Club have gone about that.”
These days, Batty is a busy man. The county matches & training programmes will run alongside his day job in the classroom but with The Hundred scheduled during the summer holidays, the role as Oval Invincibles Head Coach seemed perfect for someone who knows cricket in the South East of England as well as anyone.
Oval Invincibles will launch the first year of the tournament when Manchester Originals visit The Kia Oval on Wednesday 21 July, an excellent opportunity to showcase the women’s game to a global audience.
“Kicking off the tournament with that first game is massive for women’s cricket and we can’t wait to get out there potentially in front of a big crowd on the day. The Kia Super League was enjoying real growth in terms of the supporter base and hopefully The Hundred can utilise that and really boost it. It’s a really exciting time for women’s cricket,” he said finally.
Surrey Women’s ECB T20 schedule for this upcoming season has been confirmed with 50-over fixtures still to follow.
For more information about The Hundred & the Oval Invincibles, head to thehundred.com.
