Former Aussie wicket-keeper Julia Price appointed US women's team head coach

Former Australia wicket-keeper Julia Price has been appointed the head coach of the US women's cricket team.

Price, who was one of three candidates vying for the role, is a two-time ICC Women's Cricket World Cup winner, having lifted the trophy in 1997 and 2005. She played 84 one-day internationals and 10 Tests for Australia in an international career that spanned over nine years.

Most recently, she coached the Hobart Hurricanes, one of eight city-based franchises participating in the Women's Big Bash League (WBBL) in Australia. In addition to her Australia coaching experience, Price also served as a consultant coach during one of the USA Cricket Combines thanks to American board's partnership with Cricket Australia.

"I'm absolutely thrilled to have been appointed as Head Coach for the USA Cricket Women's National Team. I believe that the potential for growth of cricket in America, particularly in the women's game, is quite phenomenal. We have a huge year coming up so I can't wait to get going with the squad and hit the ground running from this weekend," Price said.

Price's appointment comes at a critical time for the USA Women's program, where the team will participate in a three-match Regional Americas Qualifying tournament against Canada at Broward Cricket Stadium, Florida from May 17 to 19. The winning team will progress to the eight-team ICC Women's T20 World Cup Qualifier, to be held in Scotland from August 31 this year, which will provide the two qualifying teams entry into the ICC Women's T20 World Cup in Australia next year.

With so much at stake for the women's game this year, USA Project Officer, Wade Edwards, stated, "USA Cricket is extremely fortunate to engage the expertise of Julia over the coming months as we prepare to qualify to both ICC Global events in 2019 and 2020. Julia brings a wealth of knowledge and experience, from both her playing and coaching background, in a number of Full and Associate Member countries and on behalf of the cricket community, I'm happy to welcome her to the team.