Cliff Notes – Charlotte Edwards named England Women head coach
- Charlotte Edwards, former England captain, has been appointed as the head coach of the England Women’s cricket team, succeeding Jon Lewis after a disappointing Ashes series.
- Edwards brings extensive experience, having won two World Cups and five Ashes titles as a player, along with a successful coaching career, including multiple titles with the Southern Vipers and Mumbai Indians.
Charlotte Edwards named England Women head coach
Charlotte Edwards has been appointed England Women’s head coach. Edwards, the former England captain who represented her country over 300 times, takes over from Jon Lewis, who was sacked following England’s 16-0 thrashing at the hands of Australia in the Women’s Ashes in January.
“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 said in a statement released by the ECB on Tuesday. “It means the world to me to have the three lions on my chest once again. Leading England as captain was my life for 10 years and I will forever be passionate about this team and our legacy. We have such a talented group of players, and I am excited about working with them and improving them both as individuals and as a team.”
During her 20-year playing career, Edwards won two World Cups and the Ashes five times. Since retiring in 2017, she has enjoyed a decorated coaching career, including two titles in three seasons with Mumbai Indians in the WPL and five titles with Southern Vipers, including two in the Charlotte Edwards Cup, the domestic T20 competition named in her honour.
She has also coached Southern Brave to three Women’s Hundred finals, winning the competition in 2023, and led Sydney Sixers to the WBBL final in her first season in charge in 2022-23.
Her first competitive task with England Women will be a home series against West Indies in May followed by India, ahead of the World Cup in India later this year and a home T20 World Cup in 2026.
Before that, she must repair team morale after not only the Ashes whitewashing but a surprise group-stage exit at the T20 World Cup in the UAE last October. Speaking last month, Kate Cross, the senior England seam bowler who was part of the Ashes touring party but didn’t play due to a back injury, said the team had work to do to make cultural changes after their humbling in Australia.
The Ashes defeat was the final straw that prompted an ECB review, announced by Clare Connor, the ECB’s deputy CEO and managing director of England Women’s cricket, in the immediate aftermath of that tour result, which also cost Heather Knight her job as England captain.
Connor described Edwards as a “proven winner”.
“She has the experience, passion and expertise to lead this team to success,” Connor said. “The results she has achieved as a head coach in multiple environments, since retiring as one of the greatest ever England players, is testament to her relentless drive and the standards she sets for those around her. She possesses a deep knowledge of the game, both in England and across the world, and she understands the importance of creating an environment that is both challenging and supportive.”
Trophies won by Charlotte Edwards as head coach ESPNcricinfo Ltd
Edwards’ appointment means she will leave her post as Hampshire Women’s head coach ahead of the start of the season, the first under the ECB’s new three-tier structure for women’s cricket.
Edwards moved to Hampshire in 2017 having previously played for Kent, and became director of women’s cricket at the club in 2018 before taking over as Southern Vipers’ head coach in 2020.
“I’ve had an amazing eight years at the club and am so grateful for the support I have received from the players, staff and supporters,” Edwards said. “It has been a truly special time, and it will be very difficult to leave the place that has become my home. I’m sure that Hampshire will continue to enjoy success on and off the field and look forward to returning to Utilita Bowl with the England team.”
Knight will continue to play for England, while her successor as captain is yet to be announced.
Nat Sciver-Brunt, whose wife Katherine has just given birth to their first child, a son named Theodore Michael, is favourite to be promoted from her role as vice-captain.
Edwards and Connor will address the media at Lord’s on Wednesday, where their plans for taking the England team forward will be discussed.
Fielding proved key to England’s downfall at the T20 World Cup, where a rash of errors compounded the loss of Knight to injury while batting during their decisive defeat to West Indies.
England’s fitness levels were called into question following that loss, with former spinner turned commentator Alex Hartley suggesting that a handful of players were “letting the team down” in that respect. The issue reared its head again in Australia when the hosts proved superior in all departments during the multi-format Ashes, winning three white-ball games by more than 50 runs and the Test by an innings.