LONDON: England Women’s cricket coach Jon Lewis has unveiled on Friday his adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) to enhance team selection, citing its pivotal role in guiding his team to a draw in the previous season’s Ashes.

Lewis, a former England paceman, was introduced to the capabilities of London-based PSi during his tenure with the UP Warriorz franchise in India’s Women’s Premier League. Now leveraging PSi’s technology, the 48-year-old utilizes advanced simulations to inform decisions regarding squad composition, team dynamics, and strategic player matchups during matches.

Employing a data-driven approach, Lewis collaborates with PSi to analyze various lineup permutations, with each team subjected to around 250,000 simulations to anticipate game outcomes and strategic alignments. While emphasizing a “people-first approach,” Lewis acknowledges the objective insights provided by data, particularly in refining selection dilemmas and tactical strategies.

Notably, the AI-powered analysis played a crucial role in England’s performance in the multi-format Women’s Ashes series, enabling strategic adaptations that led to victory in the T20 series and revitalized England’s position in the overall contest.

Lewis’s endorsement of AI echoes a broader trend in elite sports, with its potential recognized by figures such as International Olympic Committee president Thomas Bach, who sees AI as a tool to unearth talent globally and personalize training methodologies for athletes worldwide.