This is a major change, as Lewis is succeeded by Lewis, who announced his resignation earlier this month. Edwards is England’s all-time leading runscorer. He’ll bring a wealth of experience to the role, with more than 300 international appearances between 1996 and 2016.
During her illustrious career, Edwards captained England for a decade, leading them to remarkable successes that included three Ashes victories and both the 50-over and T20 World Cups. Her leadership and performance on the pitch have had an everlasting impact on women’s cricket in England.
The subsequent installation of her portrait in the Long Room at Lord’s cemented her legacy yet further. At age 45, Edwards has already broken new ground. Her newly unveiled portrait is only the third of a woman ever commissioned by the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) due to her huge contributions to the sport. On speaking at the unveiling, she reminisced about how far women’s cricket has come since her playing days.
“Women’s cricket has come a long way.” – Charlotte Edwards
As she settles into her new role, Edwards will need to identify a successor to former captain Heather Knight, who has stepped down from international service. She expressed urgency in appointing a new skipper, emphasizing that the candidate should be an England regular across all three formats of the game.
“We’re very close, it hopefully will be very soon,” she stated regarding the search for the new captain.
Edwards would be keen to have an announcement before the ODI series in May against the West Indies. He doesn’t want to downplay the need for strong leadership as the team gets into important games.
“I’m looking forward to that being announced, and we can get moving. And obviously, with a series coming up in May, that’s going to be really important,” she added.
Edwards still clearly recalled her experience on that journey. She remembered her first appearance at Lord’s, during a one-day international against South Africa in 1997. At that point, women had not yet joined the MCC. They indeed had two years still to wait before getting access to the Long Room. Her journey from then to now highlights the incredible transformation that women’s cricket has gone through.
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