SOMERSET County Cricket Club have appointed former Australian international Erin Osborne as new head coach of Somerset Women on a three-year contract.

Erin’s Australia debut came in 2009 and she went on to feature for her country in two Tests, 60 ODIs and 59 IT20s, taking more than 120 wickets and scoring in excess of 500 runs across the three formats.

She was a part of Australia’s World T20 winning squads in 2010, 2012 and 2014. After retiring from playing, Erin coached the ACT’s female Meteors Development Squad, and became Cricket ACT’s Male Pathway manager, the first woman to hold the role.

She was also part of the Prime Minister’s XI coaching staff for the match against India in 2024. Her latest role was as head coach of the ACT Meteors.

Erin said: “I’m thrilled to be joining Somerset as women’s head coach. This is an incredible opportunity to work with a club that has a proud history and a passionate supporter base.

“I look forward to building on the strong foundations already in place and working closely with the players, coaches and support staff as we strive for continued growth and success.”

Somerset Director of Cricket Andy Hurry added: “Erin was the standout candidate for the position, and her knowledge and experience, aligned with her drive to succeed, really resonated with the panel, and will stand the club in good stead moving forward.

“Her coaching path to date has seen Erin gain a thorough understanding of how to construct effective programmes, inspire players, and improve performance across female and male pathways. These traits will prove invaluable as we look to build on the inaugural year of professional women’s cricket at Taunton. “Erin has established an excellent reputation as a coach in Australia, and we are excited to see her lead Somerset Women into the next stage of our journey.”