Former captain Charlotte Edwards has been appointed as the new head coach of England Women.
Edwards was the immediate favourite when Jon Lewis was sacked in the aftermath of a painful Ashes whitewash and the England and Wales Cricket Board has moved swiftly to get her in, taking less than a fortnight to finalise the move.
The 45-year-old said on ecb.co.uk: “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.”
Edwards spent 20 years as an England international, captaining the side for 10 of those, and has built up a formidable coaching CV at home and abroad with a host of trophies at Southern Vipers, the inaugural Hundred title at Southern Brave and the Women’s Premier League with Mumbai Indians.
She had been linked with the job when Lewis was appointed in November 2022, but publicly withdrew from contention having concluded it was not the right time.
There was no hint of a repeat on this occasion, with the 45-year-old making it clear after the 16-0 humiliation Down Under that she wished to play a part in helping her old team rebuild.
Edwards recently took charge of Hampshire ahead of the new tier-one revamp of women’s domestic cricket, with the county now forced to look elsewhere when the inaugural season gets under way later this month.
Edwards had been scheduled to speak at the county’s pre-season media day on Tuesday but pulled out as the England deal was concluded.
One of the first big choices Edwards has to make is over her captain. Heather Knight, who herself succeeded Edwards in 2016, was also axed following an ECB review, leaving no obvious successor.
Nat Sciver-Brunt, Amy Jones, Charlie Dean and even the uncapped Grace Scrivens have been floated but none have a flawless case, meaning the judgement of the new coach will be critical.
Durham Women’s head coach Dani Hazell – another name linked with the vacancy – gave her backing to Edwards on Monday, telling the PA news agency: “I played under Lottie for many, many years and she was a brilliant leader when I played with her.
“She’s obviously now got a very good coaching CV and if that’s the direction that England go in, then I think she’ll only bring positives to it.
“I don’t have crystal balls and I can’t say what’s going to happen, but if that was the case, then I’m sure she’d do a really good job.”
