Nottinghamshire appoint O'Dowd as women's cricket director
Nottinghamshire named Alex O'Dowd to lead its women's cricket operations following the successful 2026 season of The Blaze.
Nottinghamshire have appointed Alex O'Dowd as Director of Women's Cricket. The announcement came on October 23, 2026. He replaces James Cutt, who left earlier in the year.
The 59-year-old former Auckland captain has coached both cricket and rugby union. He led the Netherlands men's rugby team and served as Director of Rugby at Trent University. His son Max is a Netherlands international and played for Nottinghamshire's second XI.
O'Dowd steps in after The Blaze swept the ODCL1, T20L1 and knockout titles in 2026. Director of Cricket Mick Newell said the club wants O'Dowd to keep the women's section at the same level.
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The question is how quickly O'Dowd can transfer his rugby-union management style to the women's game when The Blaze already set the bar so high in 2026.