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Telegraph
06-04-2025
- Sport
- Telegraph
Five ways ‘proven winner' Charlotte Edwards can revive England Women
The day after being announced as England Women's new head coach, Charlotte Edwards was laying out her coaching mantra to assembled media at Lord's. With her proven track record, Edwards was the obvious candidate to lift England after they hit rock-bottom with a 16-0 Women's Ashes defeat in Australia – a humbling that resulted in both coach Jon Lewis and captain Heather Knight being sacked. Laura MacLeod, who played 13 Test matches and 73 one-day internationals for England between 1997 and 2007 alongside Edwards, explains: 'Lottie is unique, she's one of a kind. I think there's probably nobody who will ever get near her journey, her playing experience, her coaching experience and I think she is the perfect [appointment].' At her first press conference, Edwards discussed making players 'more accountable' for their fitness, urging them to earn a place in the side by playing county cricket, and ditching the previous 'inspire and entertain' style in favour of winning. To understand further how Edwards can revive this England team, Telegraph Sport spoke to those who played with and have been coached by her. Demanding high standards Edwards spoke about making sure players take accountability and Emily Windsor, who played in her Southern Vipers side, knows exactly what the new coach will demand of the players. 'What you see with Lottie is what you get,' Windsor explains to Telegraph Sport from an event at Lord's to launch the new domestic season. 'She'll turn up to training day in and day out, she'll give everything for the team and for the group, and then that motivates you. 'But she's also not afraid – if you're not meeting standards – to let you know and have those difficult conversations. I think she's going to be very good for this English team.' MacLeod believes Edwards will not shy away from making changes should the standards she sets not be met. 'Anybody who is going to be led by her [Edwards] that doesn't want to improve, I don't think they will survive too long,' she says. 'She will set down what she expects in terms of professionalism and accountability towards those standards. They will be really strong and tough. I don't think she'll be frightened of making some additional changes.' Making winning the priority England cultivated a relaxed environment under Lewis, but Edwards has already said that the focus will be on winning more than inspiring or entertaining. The side may showcase a very different style of cricket in the summer. 'If you look at the way that Lottie sets up a team, it is very functional, it's very proven based on a lot of proven performers mixed with blooding of high-potential, highly talented players. It is that kind of notion to get across the line,' MacLeod says. 'Sometimes it's not the most attractive of games or styles of play, but it is bloody effective and her record shows that.' Drawing on experience Edwards made her England debut in a skirt, which gives an indication of the time she has spent in the game. She played the majority of her career before full-time contracts were introduced while as a coach she has experience around the world, including with the Mumbai Indians in the Women's Premier League, Southern Brave in the Hundred and Sydney Sixers in the Women's Big Bash. Beth Barrett-Wild, the director of the women's professional game at the England and Wales Cricket Board, believes Edwards' knowledge and experience will aid her going forward. 'Charlotte Edwards is a proven winner. She's obviously been part and parcel of English cricket for many decades now,' Barrett-Wild said. 'I think she really bridges that gap between where the women's game has come from… from those early days of professionalisation back in 2014.' Treating players as individuals Edwards was a player at the start of the professional era and she also has an understanding of the current situation, with 135 fully professional domestic players in 2025. Those who have been coached by her emphasise her ability to connect with players on an individual basis and maximise their potential. 'For me, one of her best qualities is she gets to know her players as individuals and she treats them like individuals,' says Windsor. 'That doesn't mean standards drop or anything, but it means that she knows how to get the best out of each player. 'She's very dedicated and I'm chuffed to bits for her. I think where English women's cricket is, she is the right person to be at the helm. She's played for England herself and captained England for many years, but she's also been part of domestic cricket for so long she knows the challenges and the opportunities that we now have in place.' Simplifying the complicated Charlie Dean, who is centrally contracted by England and has made 79 white-ball appearances for the national side, has already worked under Edwards at Southern Vipers. 'She's a fantastic head coach,' Dean tells Telegraph Sport. 'She really makes the game seem simple. As complicated a game as cricket is, the way that she looks at it and describes it just makes it feel like a simple game. 'She always says: 'Block the good ones, hit the bad 'uns' and everything just seems to make perfect common sense in her mind. 'My favourite thing to do when we were batting and I was next in to bat was to sit next to her because I love listening to the way that she talks about the game.'
The Guardian
01-04-2025
- Sport
- The Guardian
ECB have hit a winner by fast-tracking Charlotte Edwards to England role
Last time the England head coach role became available, in August 2022, Charlotte Edwards did not even apply: she believed that she did not yet have enough experience under her belt. Less than three years later, the England and Wales Cricket Board has concluded that she is such a perfect candidate for the job that it expedited her application, somehow condensing the period between firing one coach (Jon Lewis) and hiring another into the space of three weeks. Edwards's record as head coach now speaks for itself: since domestic women's cricket entered its professional era in 2020, she has led Southern Vipers to five out of nine available titles. She has also won the Women's Hundred, coached a side to the final of the Women's Big Bash League in Australia, and (less than three weeks ago) won her second Women's Premier League in India. It is sometimes said that brilliant players do not translate into brilliant coaches, but Edwards – who during her 20-year playing career won a 50-over World Cup, a T20 World Cup and lifted the Ashes five times – is a notable exception to the rule. Given the ECB's track record of hiring England head coaches who have never previously coached in the women's game, we should all welcome the appointment of someone who understands that coaching women is a different beast to coaching men, and that it is a rare person who can flit between the two (as Lewis attempted unsuccessfully to do). Indeed, a key element of Edwards's success as a coach is that she genuinely cares about women's cricket. Since she was catapulted into the England set-up as a 16-year-old, women's cricket has been the centre of her world. Offer her the England men's head coach role tomorrow and – despite the much bigger paycheck on offer – she would turn it down. Crucially, she also knows women's cricket in England like no one else. Edwards moved to Hampshire in 2017, and took over as head coach of Southern Vipers in 2020. Since then a sea of young players have been spotted by her, promoted rapidly through the ranks at Hampshire and the Vipers, and been picked up by England. In the current squad Maia Bouchier, Charlie Dean, Lauren Bell and Freya Kemp all have Edwards to thank for their international careers. At a time when England have just been embarrassed by Australia and need to think clear-headedly about whether their current personnel can cut it at the highest level, Edwards is well placed to know who is ready and waiting in the wings. Furthermore, Edwards is a hard worker who will brook no laziness or excuses. It is difficult to imagine her overseeing a team culture where players feel able to prioritise time spent on the golf course, on yachts and in hotel bars during a World Cup, instead of focusing on their next match. Her appointment sends out a clear message that the ECB is serious about making change: an excellent first step on the road towards picking up the pieces from a disastrous Ashes campaign. Some might suggest that this latest development favours the appointment of Dean as the next captain: the 24-year-old was mentored by Edwards for years at Hampshire, and the pair won the Women's County Championship together in 2018. On the other hand, Edwards never elevated Dean to captain at the Vipers (Dean's only senior captaincy experience came at London Spirit in the Hundred). The new head coach is also known to have a soft spot for another outside candidate for the captaincy role, Grace Scrivens, having attempted (without success) to recruit her to the Vipers several years ago. Sign up to The Spin Subscribe to our cricket newsletter for our writers' thoughts on the biggest stories and a review of the week's action after newsletter promotion Overall, it seems likely that Edwards will want to take her time to make a fuller assessment of all the potential candidates – from both inside and outside the dressing room. If that means England go into the series against West Indies, which begins on 21 May, with an interim captain rather than a permanent one, then so be it. For Edwards, the real goal will be lifting the T20 World Cup at home in the summer of 2026. She was removed from her role as England captain before she got the chance to captain her country in the 2017 World Cup at home, as she had long dreamed of doing: poetic justice might yet see her coach them to glory instead.
Int'l Cricket Council
01-04-2025
- Sport
- Int'l Cricket Council
England bring in former captain as head coach of the women's side
Since retiring from the sport in 2017, Edwards has coached around the world, across English domestic cricket and T20 leagues. She has achieved success with Southern Vipers in regional cricket, Southern Brave in The Hundred, Sydney Sixers in the Women's Big Bash League and most recently, Mumbai Indians in the Women's Premier League. As a player and former captain, Edwards represented her country over 300 times, winning two World Cups and lifting the Ashes five times across a 20-year career. Her first challenge as Head Coach will be a T20I against West Indies at Canterbury on May 21. The announcement for the vacant captaincy role will be made in due course.
Washington Post
01-04-2025
- Sport
- Washington Post
Charlotte Edwards appointed head coach of England's women's cricket team
LONDON — Former England captain Charlotte Edwards was appointed head coach of the country's women's national cricket team on Tuesday. Edwards played for England on more than 300 occasions during a 20-year career, winning the World Cup in both white-ball formats as well as five Ashes series against Australia. She was the captain for 10 years. 'I am so delighted to once again be part of the leadership of the England Women's cricket team, and I cannot wait to take this team forward and drive us to success,' the 45-year-old Edwards said in a statement published by the England and Wales Cricket Board. England was looking for a new coach after Jon Lewis left his post on March 21 following poor results at the T20 World Cup and in the Ashes series. Lewis had been in the job since 2022 and oversaw a drawn Ashes series at home in 2023, but England was eliminated in the group stage of last year's T20 World Cup and lost the multi-format Ashes series to Australia 16-0 in January. Edwards comes in ahead of home series against India and West Indies and the 50-over World Cup in India this year, followed by a home T20 World Cup in 2026. After retiring as a player nine years ago, Edwards has coached teams at home and abroad, winning a number of trophies with Southern Vipers, the inaugural Hundred title at Southern Brave and the Women's Premier League with Mumbai Indians. She was a candidate to take over the national team in 2022 but finally ruled herself out that time. ___ AP cricket:
Associated Press
01-04-2025
- Sport
- Associated Press
Charlotte Edwards appointed head coach of England's women's cricket team
LONDON (AP) — Former England captain Charlotte Edwards was appointed head coach of the country's women's national cricket team on Tuesday. Edwards played for England on more than 300 occasions during a 20-year career, winning the World Cup in both white-ball formats as well as five Ashes series against Australia. She was the captain for 10 years. 'I am so delighted to once again be part of the leadership of the England Women's cricket team, and I cannot wait to take this team forward and drive us to success,' the 45-year-old Edwards said in a statement published by the England and Wales Cricket Board. England was looking for a new coach after Jon Lewis left his post on March 21 following poor results at the T20 World Cup and in the Ashes series. Lewis had been in the job since 2022 and oversaw a drawn Ashes series at home in 2023, but England was eliminated in the group stage of last year's T20 World Cup and lost the multi-format Ashes series to Australia 16-0 in January. Edwards comes in ahead of home series against India and West Indies and the 50-over World Cup in India this year, followed by a home T20 World Cup in 2026. After retiring as a player nine years ago, Edwards has coached teams at home and abroad, winning a number of trophies with Southern Vipers, the inaugural Hundred title at Southern Brave and the Women's Premier League with Mumbai Indians. She was a candidate to take over the national team in 2022 but finally ruled herself out that time. ___
