Melbourne Renegades have confirmed that head coach Simon Helmot will remain at the helm of their WBBL side for three more seasons, following the club’s historic maiden title win last year. Helmot, who has a deep coaching resume in men’s cricket across various levels, originally took charge of the Renegades’ WBBL team four years ago. After a mixed run in his first three seasons, he helped the team lift their first WBBL trophy, forging a powerful connection with both the players and captain Sophie Molineux.
“𝑳𝒂𝒔𝒕 𝒔𝒆𝒂𝒔𝒐𝒏 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒂𝒏 𝒊𝒏𝒄𝒓𝒆𝒅𝒊𝒃𝒍𝒚 𝒔𝒑𝒆𝒄𝒊𝒂𝒍 𝒐𝒏𝒆 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒑𝒍𝒂𝒚𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒈𝒓𝒐𝒖𝒑 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒇𝒇, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝑰’𝒎 𝒕𝒉𝒓𝒊𝒍𝒍𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒐 𝒃𝒆 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒖𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒂𝒔 𝒉𝒆𝒂𝒅 𝒄𝒐𝒂𝒄𝒉,” 𝒔𝒂𝒊𝒅 𝑯𝒆𝒍𝒎𝒐𝒕. “𝑾𝒊𝒏𝒏𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒂 𝒕𝒊𝒕𝒍𝒆 𝒊𝒔 𝒏𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓 𝒆𝒂𝒔𝒚, 𝒘𝒉𝒊𝒄𝒉 𝒎𝒂𝒌𝒆𝒔 𝒃𝒆𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒑𝒂𝒓𝒕 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒈𝒓𝒐𝒖𝒑 𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒎𝒐𝒓𝒆 𝒔𝒑𝒆𝒄𝒊𝒂𝒍.”
He praised the leadership of general manager James Rosengarten and Molineux, saying their guidance was key to the Renegades’ success.
“𝑾𝒆’𝒗𝒆 𝒈𝒐𝒕 𝒂 𝒈𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒕 𝒄𝒐𝒓𝒆 𝒈𝒓𝒐𝒖𝒑 𝒐𝒇 𝒑𝒍𝒂𝒚𝒆𝒓𝒔… 𝑰’𝒎 𝒆𝒙𝒄𝒊𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒃𝒚 𝒘𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒘𝒆 𝒄𝒂𝒏 𝒅𝒐 𝒏𝒆𝒙𝒕,” 𝑯𝒆𝒍𝒎𝒐𝒕 𝒂𝒅𝒅𝒆𝒅.
Renegades Retain Matthews, Await Key Re-signings
In terms of squad updates, West Indies star Hayley Matthews has re-signed for the upcoming season, adding firepower ahead of Thursday’s overseas draft. However, the Renegades are yet to finalize new deals for Sophie Molineux and Georgia Wareham, both of whom are currently uncontracted. The team has made some notable moves in the transfer window, signing emerging allrounder Tess Flintoff from the Melbourne Stars, but losing Ella Hayward and Georgia Prestwidge to their city rivals.
Rob Cassell Joins Renegades BBL Staff
Meanwhile, the Renegades’ BBL coaching staff has been bolstered by the addition of Rob Cassell as assistant coach under Cameron White. Cassell, a respected bowling coach, will also serve as Victoria’s men’s bowling coach, replacing Adam Griffith. Cassell moves from Tasmania, where he held a similar role, and brings experience from his stints with Australia’s national side during Daniel Vettori’s absences.