The new head coach of Thunder is Chris Read, a former wicketkeeper for Nottinghamshire and England. Read will succeed Paul Shaw, who announced his resignation at the end of the 2023 season after four seasons in command.
Read, who represented England in all three formats and played 15 Tests between 1999 and 2007, is currently an assistant coach for the women’s Hundred Trent Rockets and the women’s WBBL Hobart Hurricanes. He also consults for the ECB on wicketkeeping matters and spent time with the England men’s Under-19 squad.
On a two-year contract, he will join the Thunder lineup in January, taking over a team that made it to the 2023 Charlotte Edwards Cup Finals.
“I am extremely proud to have taken up this position and I am looking forward to getting to work with such an ambitious club and a talented squad of players,” said Read.
“It is evident that everyone concerned wants to support the spectacular growth of the Thunder regional program in recent years by delivering championship hardware to Emirates Old Trafford.
“I believe that my experiences as both a player, and more recently as a coach around the world, will help Thunder push on and achieves our ambitions in the coming seasons.”
Regional Director of Women’s Cricket David Thorley continued, “After a thorough interview process, Chris demonstrated exceptional qualities against the candidate brief of what we were looking for in a head coach—someone who could build upon the solid foundations laid during Paul Shaw’s tenure and help further develop the high-performance culture here at Thunder.
“It is clear that Chris is an excellent strategist who knows what it takes to win through a positive brand of cricket, and I am looking forward to the future of Thunder under his leadership.”
