Charlotte Edwards – A legend of the game

Sixteen years. The number of years, since a young girl, all of just 17, called Charlotte Edwards, lit up the Hyderabad cricket stadium, with a scintillating knock of 173 in the World Cup. At an age when most of us can’t even envisage playing first class cricket, this young girl with prodigious talent, took to international cricket like a duck to water.

The scintillating knock of 173 that Edwards made seems light years ago now. The young girl, Edwards is now a tour veteran. Just seventeen or a tour veteran at 33 doesn’t seem to matter for the ageless Charlotte Edwards. Today, at the ripe age of 33, she made a game changing hundred against India in the World Cup.

It wasn’t always this easy for the great lady with a Midas touch. Yes, cricket was in Edwards’s blood, as she grew up watching her father and uncle play for the Ramsey cricket club. The problem for Edwards was; as only a few girls played cricket, she had to play with the boys.

There is an interesting story of Edwards dreaming to play for England’s men’s team. Poor lass, she didn’t even know that England’s women’s team too played internationals. Only when she watched the women’s World Cup final between England and New Zealand in ’93 did she realise that England’s women’s team also exists on this planet.

What makes her story even more fascinating is that Charlotte Edwards went on to captain the under 16 Huntingdonshire’s boys team. During that time, she played with future first class cricketers like Scott Newman and Will Jefferson. There were boys who were said to be annoyed of her playing for the boys team, and that resulted in them trying beamers at her, to prove a point.

Now, it doesn’t take rocket science to work out that a prodigious talent like Edwards would be fast-tracked into the national set-up. At the tender age of 12, she was representing England under 19s. Mere mortals like us would be thinking of how to finish our homework at that age.

The big break soon came her way, as Edwards was selected to play for England in Tests, at the age of just 16 against New Zealand, in ’96. The cricketing world though, took notice of her talent when Edwards made a century the very next year in a one-day game against South Africa at Taunton. It was followed by the record breaking effort of 173 not out against Ireland in the 50-over World Cup, in ’97. Unfortunately for her, the record was broken the same day by the Australian, Belinda Clark, as she made 229 not out against Denmark. All those statistical geeks out there would remember that interesting fact forever.

In 1999, Edwards showed her class against the touring Indians in a Test match, with a well measured century at Shenley. I do remember the veteran English journalist, Tedd Corbett, saying, “She will become a legend of the game.”

During that time, Edwards suffered a career threatening cruciate ligament injury while playing hockey. A few critics even reckoned she may never play again. Our Edwards, though, with hard-work and determination, rose like a phoenix from the ashes. She didn’t just recover from that terrible injury, but she has now become the highest run-getter in One-day cricket.

By 2006, Edwards was appointed as full-time captain of England. It was yet another feather in the cap of this ace cricketer from Huntingdon. Edwards seemed to be a born captain, as, if you remember, she captained the under 16 Huntingdonshire’s boys team. Under her stewardship, England retained the Ashes twice and also won the 50-over, World Cup and World T20, both in ’09. The way England conquered the rest of the cricketing world in ’09 definitely helped in raising the profile of women’s cricket in UK.

Edwards’s former 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.”

Critics, though, will tell you, a captain also has to lead the team from the front. Charlotte Edwards definitely led from the front in Ashes 2010/11 in Australia. England found themselves in dire straits, in the one off Ashes match at Sydney, but like a true gladiator, Edwards stood tall amongst the ruins, and made a fine hundred.

Australians had enough variety in their attack to trouble any opposition. The fast bowling sensation Perry and her partner in crime, Farrell, made early inroads. They were well supported by couple of parsimonious spinners in Stahlekar and Nitschke. So, Edwards had to use the wealth of all her experience to tackle the girls from Down Under. The magnificent innings by her went in vain, as they were crushed by seven wickets. Edwards, though, showed her mettle in adverse circumstances.

ECB’s head of women’s cricket, Clare Connor on Edwards, during that tour of Australia, “This has been, unarguably, her best tour with the bat.”

More than those runs she has made and wickets in her kitty, even more than the century in the Sydney test, Charlotte Edwards’s greatest contribution to cricket will always be the fact that she inspired many young girls to dream big.