On seventeenth November of 2010 all the hype in World cricket was about whether Strauss and his band of boys can defeat Australia in their own den. The hype was on expected lines, as England hadn't defeated Australia in Australia for more than two decades. The month of November though, wasn't just about the Ashes as on seventeenth of that month, the well respected, talented and a lady, who seemed to be made of Toledo steel Charlette Edwards became the most capped player in women's cricket. Unfortunately, the great landmark achieved by her almost went unnoticed on that day, though thankfully, she was felicitated with an engraved sliver bat during the second test at Lord's in 2011. So, this is an article written to salute the achievements of a cricketer, who doesn't get the recognition she deserves.
The Huntingdon born Edwards always looked like she was made for cricket, as it is said that even at an young age, she lived and breathed cricket. Interest for cricket came naturally in her blood as she grew up watching her dad play cricket for Ramsey cricket club. In-fact, as she grew up, she even played for boys team and went onto captain the under 16 boys team! If I am right county players like Scott Newmann and Will Jefferson played with her. There are even stories about opposition fast bowlers in an attempt to prove a point bowled beamers at her. Interestingly she even dreamt of representing the men's national team when she was young. So, it is no wonder that at the age of just 12, she was selected to play for women's under 19 team and at the tender age of 16, she played her first test for England against New Zealand. It must have been a proud moment for the girl from Huntingdon to represent England team at such an young age. What a great experience it would have been, as here was a 16 year old girl walking with one of the greats of the game Brittin to open the batting.
At the tender age of 16 most would struggle to do well in internationals, but not Edwards, as she took to international cricket like a duck to water. Edwards smashed 12 hundreds in 1997, scored the then record ODI score of 173 not out in a WC match against Ireland and in 99, made a splendid hundred against the touring Indian team. At that time, it didn't look like anything would go wrong in Edwards's career as she was scoring runs for fun. The fact though is, to earn success everyone has to work extremely hard and have to overcome major setbacks. From playing against boys at an young age, playing for national team with her own kit, or when she suffered a horrible ligament injury, just like a true champion, Edwards has shown that she can overcome any hurdle, especially when she suffered that horrible injury in 2000, there were speculations that she may never be the same player again . Edwards though, rose from the ashes like Phoenix and took her game to the next level by doing even better than what she did before.
In 2005 the moment that everyone was waiting for came, as Edwards became England's women's captain. It was yet another achievement in Edwards's glittering career. In the beginning, she seemed to be frustrated too easily, but soon she learnt the tricks of the trade and captained England to a historic Ashes triumph in 2005. 2005 was also the year when the men's team finally beat Australia in the Ashes, but unlike the men's team, England's women's team under stewardship of Edwards made sure that victory against the Ozzies was just a stepping stone to success as between 2005-2009, they retained the Ashes twice, won the 50 overs as well as T/20 WC in 2009. In-fact, the T/20 WC victory in England has raised the profile of women's cricket in England as there is more interest in women's cricket now.
The greatest challenge for any captain though, comes when the team is in dire straits and that is the time when everyone expects the captain to raise like a true gladiator and lead the team from the front. Edwards did just that in 2010/11 Ashes, when in-spite of leading an injury ravaged side which kept losing most of the matches, Edwards scored a fantastic hundred under pressure in the one off test and was ultra consistent in most of the One-day matches as well as T/20's.
Present head of England's women's cricket and former player Connor on Edwards's success during the tour of Australia,
"This has been, unarguably, her best tour with the bat,"
Connor's views about that disastrous tour down under,
It was awful," says Connor. "The meetings off the pitch were dire. Here we were in Australia for a massive tour, after so much hard work and preparation and all our best-laid plans were falling apart. Four or five days in, it looked like being a tour from hell. We were sending players home to have shoulder surgery and looking at our possible replacements, other players were picking up niggles being driven all over Perth for specialist appointments and MRI scans."
Edwards's teammate Claire Taylor on her captaincy,
"She is a great captain, And there are a couple of reasons why. Firstly she is so involved in the game, she thinks about cricket all the time. It is just part of who she is. She is always watching the game on TV – she calls it research – it doesn't matter who is playing, whether it is an Australian State side or anybody else, she'll be watching. Just to see what is happening, how other people are playing the game and what other captains are doing."
Connor on Edwards's work ethic,
"You have to almost drag her physically out of the nets and unbuckle her pads to get her to stop practicing,"
The above lines just reiterates what I said at beginning of the article that here is a lady, who is made of toeldo steel! Now just because I have kept praising about Lottie's grit, it doesn't mean that she doesn't have the talent as a batswoman. Her ability to find gaps and hit boundaries at will, especially square off the wicket on either side has always been great to watch. I have also left out on the fact that Lottie can bowl handy leg-spin.
Final words
As Lottie is fit as a fiddle and still in prime form, she can definitely play for few more years at the top level. More importantly, she is the key when it comes to guiding the next generation of England's women cricketers. So, we salute this once in a generation cricketer, who with her deeds on the field has raised the profile of the game. She is no doubt a great ambassador for the women's game.
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