Former captain Edwards wants to help England rebuild

Legendary former captain Charlotte Edwards says she wants to help England in their rebuild following the Women's Ashes drubbing in Australia.

England were swept 16-0 down under - the first time either team has been beaten in every match since the multi-format scoring method was introduced in 2013.

The positions of current skipper Heather Knight and coach Jon Lewis are under threat and Clare Connor, England's managing director of women's cricket, said there will be an "honest review".

"They have got to ask people within the game what they think," Edwards told Stumped. "I don't care who coaches or captains the team, I just want English cricket to get back to where it should be.

"We've got to use people who know what's going on to help. I feel I'm in a position to help and support the ECB in that process.

"I've got great experience across county level and working in the WBBL, that hopefully somebody will pick up the phone and ask what we need to do to get better."

Edwards ended a 20-year international career in 2016 when she was replaced as England captain.

In her 11 years in charge, Edwards won the Ashes on four occasions as well as both the 50-over and 20-over World Cups in 2009.

The 45-year-old has since enjoyed success as a head coach, winning The Hundred with Southern Brave and the inaugural Women's Premier League in India with Mumbai Indians.

Asked whether she feels equipped to take charge of England if the opportunity arises, Edwards said: "I'm certainly more prepared because of some of the experiences I've had in the past few years."

Knight succeeded Edwards as captain and has now been in charge for almost nine years.

The 34-year-old led England to World Cup glory on home soil in 2017 but they have not won a trophy of any kind since.

Respected as a leader and one of England's finest cricketers of all time, Knight has not presided over an Ashes triumph in her five series as captain, albeit against an Australia team that is the strongest in the history of the women's game.

Bar a drawn series against the Australians at home in 2023, England's recent record in major events has been disappointing.

They were on the brink of an early exit at the 2022 World Cup before being overwhelmed in the final by Australia, missed out on the medals in the Commonwealth Games of the same year and have not reached a T20 World Cup final since 2018.

The nadir was this latest Ashes, where they were humiliated by Australia with seven defeats across three one-day internationals, three T20s and a one-off Test.

"It's hugely disappointing," said Edwards. "Hopefully this will be a line in the sand for the team and the ECB to have a look at where we're going in the women's game, because there are a lot of good things happening.

"That's what makes it sad for someone who is involved in the system. There are a lot of good things happening within county and regional structure and it hasn't necessarily been portrayed with the England team. That is a worry and something that needs to be looked at."

England's fitness was called into question by former spinner Alex Hartley following their group-stage exit at the T20 World Cup in October.

Although coach Lewis conceded Australia are "more athletic" than England, he suggested this was because of climatic and cultural differences between the two nations.

"If you do a comparison they are more athletic and they are fitter," said Edwards.

"That is what we have to aspire to be like. Part of our jobs at county level is to support the players to be fitter, more athletic, so we can compete with Australia."