Renegades recruit Aussie assistant as new WBBL coach

Melbourne Renegades have appointed Gavan Twining, an assistant with the Australian women's team, as their new WBBL head coach.

Twining replaces championship-winning coach Simon Helmot, who departed the club in April to take on roles in overseas franchise competitions.

The former NSW Breakers coach has been Australia's fielding mentor since late 2024, playing a role in their recent successful women's T20 World Cup campaign.

At the Renegades he'll reunite with national skipper Sophie Molineux and allrounder Georgia Wareham, and Twining said he hoped to take the lessons he'd learned from the national team to the WBBL|10 champions.

"The Renegades have a strong foundation and a talented squad and I'm looking forward to helping the players take the next step and build on the success the club has had," Twining said.

"Having been part of the Australian team's World Cup campaign, I'm excited to bring those experiences into the Renegades environment and help produce performances that our members and fans can be proud of."

Twining has prior experience in the Big Bash having worked as an assistant to former Sydney Sixers coach Greg Shipperd across six BBL seasons, including consecutive campaigns when the club claimed back-to-back titles in BBL|09 and |10.

He took charge of the Breakers in 2021, where he led the women's side for three seasons before accepting the role with the Australian team.

Renegades general manager Max Abbott said Twining was the ideal man to lead the club through the upcoming women's Big Bash season.

"Gavan is an outstanding addition to our WBBL program, bringing World Cup-winning experience to our group," Abbott said.

"There's already a very positive environment within the squad and we felt Gavan was the best person to continue building on that working with the experienced leaders we have in the squad."

Twining will begin his tenure with the Renegades following Australia's two white-ball series in October, where the women's team will play three one-day internationals against Bangladesh and three T20 internationals against New Zealand.

Former Australian men's player and Melbourne Stars quick Clint McKay will lead the team during the Spring Challenge which is set to take place from October 9 to October 21 in Sydney.

Twining will resume his duties with the national team at the end of the WBBL season, with Australia set to travel to Sri Lanka for three ODIs in December.