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Kate Cross expects results under ‘queen of English cricket' Charlotte Edwards

Kate Cross expects results under ‘queen of English cricket' Charlotte Edwards

Charlotte Edwards, who captained England to 50-over and T20 World Cup glory in 2009, replaced Jon Lewis as head coach in April and has just a few months to mould her team before the 2025 edition of the former competition in India and Sri Lanka.
Edwards will send her side into the first of three one-day internationals against India in Southampton on Wednesday on the back of 3-2 T20 series defeat by the same opposition, with Cross confident her inspirational former captain can make a significant impact.
ODI squad assemble! 😍
Training vibes high 👊 pic.twitter.com/AQcaNgHhNw
— England Cricket (@englandcricket) July 15, 2025
The Lancashire pace bowler said: 'She is the queen of English cricket, isn't she?
'I spoke in a press conference months ago about how Lottie was the captain that gave me my debut cap, so it's kind of like a full-circle moment for me where one of the best English cricketers to play the game is now leading the team.
'She's so passionate about English cricket and so passionate about women's cricket. She's the biggest badger I know – she's literally watched every ball that you bowl or every ball that you face, she's really on it. She's got about seven laptops, I think, to watch all the Blast games.
'But her knowledge around the game is just phenomenal, so I think we feel really lucky that we've had a coach with that sort of experience, but also with the career that she had in the game, come in to help guide us and make us a better team, so it's been brilliant.'
Edwards has work to do as she attempts to restore England's fortunes after a difficult year which has included a 16-0 Ashes whitewash, and she has vowed to make fitness one of the key elements of her regime.
However, Cross revealed she has set about her task with a smile on her face.
She said: 'She's not just not changed at all. She's still the same Lottie that was my captain eight or nine years ago, so it's been really lovely for me personally to have her around.
'She's just great fun as well. She's always chuckling and making you laugh, which is a really nice place to be in an international dressing room.'
On the pitch, Nat Sciver-Brunt's side are still getting to grips with Edwards' philosophy, and Cross insists they need time to do that as they attempt to eradicate the failings which have cost them so dearly in recent times.
She said: 'It's difficult. I know we're getting still quite a lot of press around our fielding. It's not where we want it to be and we know there's been some mistakes made in key moments.
'But hopefully if we can be judged in six months', eight months', 12 months' time when the new regime has had a chance to kind of bed in, then hopefully those comments that are made will be… not fairer, because I think the comments that were being made are quite fair at the moment.
'But you'll only then see the changes which will fit with the new regime that Lottie wants to bring in.'
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Aitana Bonmati reveals England's mistake and the quality to define Euro 2025 final
Aitana Bonmati reveals England's mistake and the quality to define Euro 2025 final

The Independent

time41 minutes ago

  • The Independent

Aitana Bonmati reveals England's mistake and the quality to define Euro 2025 final

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'A different world' - Spain's transformation after World Cup fallout
'A different world' - Spain's transformation after World Cup fallout

BBC News

timean hour ago

  • BBC News

'A different world' - Spain's transformation after World Cup fallout

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For a lot of them, the only major tournament they are missing is the Euros. They know they have one opportunity."Sara Alcaraz Guiterrez, a reporter for national Spanish radio, said this is the first tournament since the 2023 World Cup where she hasn't had to "speak about the federation and what is happening inside"."The players are more relaxed because they know everyone in Spain is speaking just about the Euros. It's like 'finally'." 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Struan Walker on a mission to help Scotland achieve Euro hockey glory
Struan Walker on a mission to help Scotland achieve Euro hockey glory

The Herald Scotland

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Struan Walker on a mission to help Scotland achieve Euro hockey glory

And so, from next season, Walker will split his time training and playing with new club Oranje-Rood in Eindhoven and the rest at the GB base in Bisham Abbey, west of London. The plan will see him flying back and forth across the Channel twice a week but it is a sacrifice the 23-year-old is willing to make to advance his career on two fronts, rather than just the one. 'The Oranje-Rood opportunity just came up I couldn't say no to it,' he reveals. 'It was just exciting and a massive challenge and I think it's going to be a lot of fun. 'But I'm also staying full-time at GB so I'm going to fly back and forth most weeks. Sunday to Wednesday, I'm going to be in London. Wednesday to Sunday, I'll be in Holland, playing for Oranje-Rood. 'All the travelling's not ideal but I'm sure I'll get used to it and I won't need to be waiting about in airports for too long. It's one of these things where I couldn't say no to Holland and I couldn't say no to GB.' Walker will follow a path trodden many times by Scotland internationals including Alan Forsyth and Kenny Bain who both benefited from a spell playing in the Netherlands. And having already played abroad before, in Hamburg for Club an der Alster, the former Hutchesons' Grammar pupil hopes to again expand his horizons beyond the hockey field. 'I think everyone has the same feeling about Dutch hockey - you just really want to play in this league if you can,' he confirms. 'It's one of the best, if not the best in the world. It is just a completely different world. And also in terms of going to another country, new cultures, I think that's a massive part of it that you get to go travelling and meet new people which really excites me. 'You had Kenny, Aldo and lots of other boys who have been out there and loved it. I think it's just another exciting chapter for me." The move to Eindhoven brings to an end two successful seasons with Surbiton in the English Premier Division, with Walker signing off by scoring the winning goal in the play-off final. If there is a hockey equivalent of a Roy-of-the-Rovers dream scenario, this was it. 'I just did my job and scored a goal but there was so much more to that success than the guy who touched the ball last,' he adds modestly. 'But, yeah, I was buzzing that I got to score in the final. It was a nice way to finish off a really amazing two years at Surbiton.' Walker has been on his travels again this week, this time with the Scotland national team who are in Lousada, Portugal for the EuroHockey Championships II that get underway tomorrow. Incentive is not in short supply, with the two finalists from the eight-team tournament qualifying for next year's World Cup qualifier and also the revamped top division EuroHockey championships taking place in England in 2027. Having won the FIH Nations Cup II event earlier this year, Walker says Scotland head into this event bursting with confidence. 'We know that we can beat the teams we have to,' he adds. 'It's just about how we mentally approach it and I think right now the boys are in a really good headspace. 'It's been a bit of a tricky summer leading up into this but everyone's handled it really well. It's galvanised us a little bit, and yeah, I think we're all really confident for it. "We didn't have as much contact time as we would have liked but the boys bought into what we had to do and made sure that we just focused on ourselves going into it. 'There's plenty of motivation for us but rather than seeing it as a lot on the line we're seeing it as a lot to gain. So, instead of being concerned that we might not do it, we're all thinking, 'this is our chance'. "We just need to go in and perform with full confidence to be honest as we've got a massive chance to do something really special with this team. 'When you get to the end of your career and you look back, you want to be able to speak about being at European championships and World Cups and not just the qualifiers. And we've got the ability throughout the squad to go out and do something special for Scotland.'

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