After stepping down from England set-up, Jon Lewis leaves UP Warriorz head coach role

New Delhi, June 27 (IANS) Months after his exit from the England women’s set-up, Jon Lewis has now left his role as head coach of UP Warriorz (UPW) in the Women’s Premier League (WPL).

Lewis had been the side’s coach since the league’s inception in 2023 and under him, the team entered the playoffs in that season, before losing to eventual champions Mumbai Indians. But in 2024 season, UPW failed to enter the playoffs as they finished fourth in the points table.

In WPL 2025, UPW, led by India’s off-spin bowling all-rounder Deepti Sharma after regular skipper Alyssa Healy was unavailable due to a knee injury, ended at the bottom of the points table.

“From day one, you believed in us. Through the highs, the learnings, and everything in between — Thank You, Coach Jon Lewis, for leading with heart, calm, and belief. You’ll always be a part of the Warriorz Family,” wrote the franchise on its social media accounts on Friday.

Lewis, who played a Test, 13 ODIs and two T20Is for the England men’s team, had previously left the women's head coach role after the side suffered a 16-0 women's Ashes defeat in Australia, which came after their group-stage exit in the Women’s T20 World Cup in October last year.

England women’s head coach position, previously held by Lewis, has now been taken up by Charlotte Edwards, who guided Mumbai Indians to their second WPL title earlier this year before leaving the franchise.

The status of Lisa Sthalekar, the former Australia cricketer, continuing in the UPW team as mentor is yet to be known, while Anju Jain, the former India player who later coached Bangladesh, was not with the franchise from last year. It also means that ahead of WPL 2026, both MI and UPW will be hunting for a new head coach.

--IANS

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