Lisa Sthalekar is a former Australian cricketer and national team coach. She has been a coach for the men’s and women’s teams since 1996 and is presently an analyst for the Channel Five commentary team. Prior to this she was a match referee and match commentator for the Australia Cricket Television (ACT). Sthalekar began playing cricket at an early age of five and began playing the game seriously in her early teens, but didn’t make any appearances on the senior side until she was 24. At that time she played club and ultimately became a junior coach at a school in Melbourne.
At that stage of her career Lisa chose not to continue with the sport after high school and began working in the hospitality industry. She worked as a catering assistant before taking up a job as an assistant sports management manager for a tour company which specialized in the activities and lifestyles of swimmers and divers. It was this experience which led her to begin coaching fellow athletes in the swimming, diving and surfing industries. This led to her being hired by Channel Five in 1996 as a sports commentator and then later as a coach of the women’s team that won the world cup that year. After this she became a member of the senior management team for the ACB and then served as team manager for the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta.
Sthalekar has coached both men’s and women’s teams and has managed a number of other individuals including players, staff and sponsorships. She has also spent some time as a golfing consultant. Sthalekar first became interested in sports management when she captained the Australian girls’ volleyball team and later managed squash players, including the famed Hope Solo. The exciting and adventurous sport of cricket with which she is best known is undoubtedly tennis, however Sthalekar enjoys being involved in all other areas and would like to see a women’s career take off in sports, particularly if it can be done successfully in the big European sporting leagues such as the Grand Slams.