Winning all that matters in England's Edwards era

Charlotte Edwards is a winner.

As England captain, she racked up three Ashes series victories outright as well as the 2009 50-over and T20 World Cup titles.

As a coach, she has guided Southern Vipers to five trophies, steered Southern Brave to glory in The Hundred, and twice won the Women's Premier League with Mumbai Indians.

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So, she seems the perfect appointment as England's new women's head coach because what that side has not been doing of late is winning. Not when it truly matters, anyway.

Edwards' predecessor, Jon Lewis, won 52 of his 73 games in charge, regularly steering England to bilateral series victories - but he didn't secure a World Cup title or Ashes success.

The team faltered in the semi-final stage of the 2023 T20 World Cup and were then eliminated in the group phase a year later.

An Ashes draw at home in 2023 was followed by a 16-0 defeat in Australia this winter, a shemozzle that sealed Lewis' sacking.

England, much like their men's counterparts, have spoken frequently about playing aggressive and entertaining cricket. A great sentiment, sure, but one that began to come across as waffle, and even delusional, with no major silverware to accompany it.

'I'm not scared to say I want to win'

Under Edwards, as she told the Sky Sports Cricket Podcast a day after being named coach, results are paramount: "Ultimately, international cricket - any game of cricket I played in - is about winning. I am not going to be scared to say I want to win.

"There is a lot I want to bottle from the way the players have played over the last couple of years, but what I have to do is build that game awareness in there. We have to get players to learn how to win. That might be a different situation every time they play.

"I feel recently there has been one way of playing and that's the only way they can play. I want to produce intelligent players that win games for England.

"I don't think we need to go in a completely different direction. It is about resetting a few things. I think there are some real quick fixes and that's what excites me the most."

Edwards is leaving her franchise cricket roles at Brave, Mumbai and WBBL team Sydney Sixers to focus solely on England, with her first six months in charge to feature home contests against West Indies and India and then a 50-over World Cup in India in the autumn.

The 45-year-old was a contender for the England job before Lewis was appointed in 2022 but then opted out. Now, though, she feels "absolutely ready" for an international gig.

"I think I was screaming out for greater focus. I like a project and this a big one for me, something I can get my teeth into. Planning for big world events really excites me.

"I have experience and confidence after coaching under high pressure.

"One of my biggest strengths early on was developing young players, but I am a more rounded coach now so I can have different styles for different age groups.

"I feel walking into the dressing room that they know me as a coach now, not as the captain. And I am a much better coach than I was a captain, for sure. "

'Best is yet to come' for former captain Knight

One of Edwards' first jobs will be to install a new captain with Heather Knight - who succeeded her as skipper in 2016 - axed in the wake of the Ashes hammering.

Edwards has a replacement in mind and hopes to announce that soon but stressed that "ultimate professional" Knight will have a major role to play moving forward.

"Heather did an amazing job in charge and to do it for nine years under more scrutiny than I had was incredible.

"She is batting as well as I have seen from her and think we are very lucky to still have her in the team. The best is yet to come.

"She is the ultimate professional in my eyes and someone I want around this group to share her experiences and leadership."

'Australia are envious of our domestic structure'

Edwards is adamant in what she wants.

She won't be having conversations about fitness, the likes of which dominated a winter of dropped catches and questions over the team's athleticism: "Players understanding their responsibilities as England cricketers is a non-negotiable."

She will be picking based on performances in a varied English domestic set-up she believes Australia are "envious of", rather than "potential or because they bowl left-arm", adding: "It will give more hope to a lot of county players. The door isn't shut for anyone."

She also wants England's established players to feature more often at domestic level, accepting that failings getting over the line in big international matches stems from struggling to deal with pressure, something that will only improve with game awareness.

"Our domestic cricket is very strong. I am so proud of our set-up. I have lived and breathed it for five years.

"What I didn't want to come out of the [post-Ashes] review was that we are not in a good place because we are."

And England are now in a good place, with a winner in charge.