England women’s cricket coach Charlotte Edwards couldn’t have asked for a better chance to hit the reset button. With no international matches scheduled until before a T20 series against New Zealand that starts on May 10, she is turning this quiet winter into an opportunity for reflection and team building. The team hasn’t played since that painful semi-final loss to South Africa at last year’s ICC Women’s ODI World Cup in India.
Edwards took on the role as England’s head coach last April during a tough time for the team. The Ashes ended in a humiliating 16-0 loss in Australia. Coach Jon Lewis and captain Heather Knight stepped down from their roles, and concerns about fitness and professionalism were growing. “They were really low in confidence,” Edwards recalls to BBC Sport.
“That was probably the one thing that really stood out and that Ashes down under was a really hard one to get over for some of the players.” She acted quickly, setting clear standards and creating individual development plans for each player.
The results speak for themselves: England became the World Cup’s best fielding unit in no time. “To turn that around as quickly as we did from the Ashes is a testament to the hard work the group and the coaches have put in,” she adds proudly.
However, that semi-final loss revealed old issues, England sometimes collapses at critical moments. Edwards’ comments after the match about “looking to the future” caught everyone’s attention, and this winter is her chance to experiment.
As big names like captain Nat Sciver-Brunt, Lauren Bell, Sophie Ecclestone, Danni Wyatt-Hodge, and Linsey Smith playing in India’s Women’s Premier League, and Women’s Big Bash League in Australia, veterans like Amy Jones, Tammy Beaumont, Heather Knight, and Sophia Dunkley recharge at home, Edwards is focused on the next generation and the Under-19s back in the UK.
Three key training camps are planned: the first is happening now in Oman, followed by another in South Africa, and a major intra-squad series in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) for the country’s top 30 players.
Rising talents like Surrey’s Kira Chathli (wicketkeeper) and Tilly Corteen-Coleman (spinner), Essex’s Jodi Grewcock, Hampshire’s Rhianna Southby, and Warwickshire’s Charis Pavely will work alongside familiar faces such as Maia Bouchier, Alice Capsey, Lauren Filer, Freya Kemp, Em Arlott, Mahika Gaur, Emma Lamb and Issy Wong.
“We’re going to be putting the best against the best, and we’ll get a very clear indication of where that next group of players are,” Edwards says.
She is encouraging real competition and asks for no favors. Edward conveyed to the players that every player is a contender for the World Cup spot. It doesn’t matter if they are 18 or 35. There are specific needs: England needs a true bowling all-rounder to support Kemp, who has been dealing with back issues, and Gibson, along with left-handers to fill the gap left by Lydia Greenway since 2016.
Fitness, which was once an issue, is now essential. “I don’t want easy selections,” Edwards insists. She wants it to be tough. She wants players to be pushing for their places and saying, ‘you’ve got to pick me’ and she hopes that will be the case by the end of Abu Dhabi.
When summer’s T20 World Cup arrives on home soil, England could be sharper, deeper, and hungrier than ever. All these training and commitment will make England a strong contender for the World Cup title.
(Quotes Sourced from BBC)
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