West Australian women’s coach Becky Grundy says dominant era just around the corner after signing extension

West Australian women’s coach Becky Grundy has signed a two-year contract extension and declared she has the State’s next championship-winning squad at her fingertips. Grundy will coach both WA and Perth Scorchers for the next two seasons. They loom as crucial years in the development of her side, who used 18 players this summer, despite only having 16 contracted. WA finished last with just three wins from their 12 matches. But they were cruelled by more injuries to key experienced players, unavailability of their international guns and the shock mid-season retirement of Lisa Griffith. Grundy has been retained as coach because WA powerbrokers are confident the group — which was one game off a final last summer — is moving in the right direction. “I’m super excited and grateful to the WACA and John (Stephenson) and Kade (Harvey) for extending my contract,” she told The West Australian. “It’s been a tough season, so for them to back me in and have faith in me and the rest of the staff and the program — I feel like we’ve got unfinished business becoming what we’d like to be, so to be able to stay within that group and hopefully help us get there is really exciting. “The process and what we’re trying to do behind the scenes, I think are all really happy with. Unfortunately, that hasn’t resulted in performances yet, but we try and get those processes right, get the people right and then the results take care of themselves.” Asked if she felt the core of the State’s next successful era was already on its list, Grundy replied: “definitely”. “We have obviously made some moves over the last couple of years to bring in the likes of Mikayla (Hinkley) to strengthen the experienced and I feel now we have got a really good blend between experienced senior players and some of the youth that is pushing up through,” she said. Grundy revealed she was fully invested in coaching in both the Big Bash and the Women’s National Cricket League next season. Domestic women’s players are contracted to the end of March, so WA’s players are still training at the WACA Ground this month. Pace bowler Piepa Cleary — who missed the entire season with a torn ACL — is making good progress in her recovery and has returned to bowling, while young gun Chloe Ainsworth is battling a stress fracture in her foot. Their seam-bowling stocks were so thin at times this season, WA carried up to four spinners in some matches. “We are still searching to make sure we have got the depth there when we get injuries that we don’t drop off too quickly,” Grundy said. First-year WACA CEO John Stephenson was emphatic when announcing Grundy’s extension that the women’s program was in capable hands. “From what I’ve seen we’ve got a great pipeline of talent coming through which speaks to the work Becky is doing,” he said “This is a long-term project and women’s cricket is developing rapidly and WA Cricket is a great exemplar of that and that’s why I think Becky is the right person to lead it.”