Naomi joins Cricket Shropshire team
Naomi Payne is no stranger to Shropshire cricket.
The Board’s new Cricket Development Coach, with a focus on supporting the growth of women and girls’ participation in the county, has been involved in the game in Shropshire for many years.
In recent years, she has been the driving force behind the creation of the successful women and girls’ section at Oswestry Cricket Club and was named one of the ECB’s Coaches of the Year in 2022.
She has been captain and vice-captain of Shropshire’s Women’s team in the past, and also been lead and support coach for the girls’ and boys’ county and development age group squads.
She joins Shannon Aston as another new face in the team looking to continue the impressive growth in the women and girls’ game in Shropshire in recent years.
Lead Officer Steve Reese said: “Both Naomi and Shannon will be the drivers of the continued development of our Women and Girls activity, picking up a healthy legacy from all of Katie and Maisie Rushton’s hard work.
“Naomi will also be supporting our Pathway at the Performance end once the Winter Programme has completed.
“She brings a wealth of recreational cricket experience and is the daughter of ex-First Class cricketer Ian Payne, (Surrey and Gloucestershire then playing for Shropshire from 1994 to 1997.)
“She has been a prominent member of Oswestry Cricket club, for a number of years having established a women and girls’ section and this season will be captaining their 2nd Xl.
“One of three winners of the National ECB Coach Awards in 2022, Naomi has also been the winner of Cricket Shropshire Coach of the Year and Women’s Cricket Champion award at the Board’s annual awards ceremony.
“She is also a Coach Developer having delivered on four courses to date in North Wales and is set to deliver for Cricket Shropshire in the coming weeks.
“In addition to her cricket background, she has worked for her family’s marketing company for more than 10 years before joining us, and will help elevate the profile of Women and Girls cricket and the work of the Board.”
Naomi said: “It’s been a goal of mine for some time now to turn my passion into my work, so I’m thrilled to have joined the Board on a full-time basis.
“I’m looking forward to working alongside Shannon (Aston) to help continue the excellent women and girls’ development across the county, and am excited to see what next steps can be made.”