There are few certainties left in cricket but you can still expect Daniel Vettori will bowl the ball in the right areas; Geoffrey Boycott can be relied on to point out the benefits of uncovered wickets; and Charlotte Edwards can be guaranteed to be leading England’s women to a one-day victory somewhere or other on the globe.
That was the case on Tuesday at Lincoln University, a green oasis in a very dry land about 20km out of Christchurch. There Edwards oversaw an English victory over New Zealand in the third and final Twenty20 match. They won by five wickets to take the series 2-1; in the 50-over matches England trail 2-1 with two to play.
Heather Knight was the player of the match after a perky 26 runs and two wickets but, unwittingly, Edwards attracted more attention. Several important people had gathered, partly to celebrate Edward’s 200th match in charge of the team. Sir Richard Hadlee, 20 minutes from his home, popped down to hand out awards at the presentation ceremony.
Another folklore figure from Nottingham was there, Enid Bakewell, England’s champion all-rounder in the 70s. “I saw Charlotte play a cover drive as a 12-year‑old and knew she was something very special,” said Enid, who still plays at the age of 74.
Also in attendance was Paul Downton, the England and Wales Cricket Board’s director of cricket, who was there to congratulate Edwards in person and to read out to the players a message from Clare Connor, Edwards’ predecessor as captain, her friend and now head of women’s cricket at the ECB.
“What she has given to England women’s cricket cannot be quantified in numbers,” wrote Connor. “She is without question the most successful captain, male or female, across sport in our country.” Argue among yourselves about that. And here are some numbers anyway.
Edwards has captained England in 200 matches since she took over from Connor in 2006, out of her total of 289. She has won 60 of 82 matches in charge of T20 games, 67 of 109 one‑day internationals and two out of nine Tests. She has scored more one-day runs (8,027) than any English cricketer regardless of sex. She has been playing for England for 18 and a half years.
At Lincoln she said that winning the game – and the T20 series – had been the main focus rather than her landmark. She remains intent on looking forward, not back. “Fitness and form permitting” she wants to be captaining in England for the World Cup in 2017.
Had she never heard of burnout? “I always wanted to play cricket as a professional,” she says. “I love what I do. I still have a passion for cricket. It has been a good time to play with the game becoming more professional with more time for training. I’m more supple now than when I was 25,” which was 10 years ago.
Just as eloquent of her passion was her response to the first Kiwi wicket to fall at Lincoln. She sprinted with a beaming smile towards the catcher on the boundary, Lydia Greenway, as if the Ashes had been secured again. Her pure love of the game reminds me only of Marcus Trescothick among the men – although he does not seem to have become more supple as the years pass by.
How does she find new things to say to her team? “Perhaps the answer is I don’t say too much. Usually – hopefully – they listen when I do speak.” With that she rushed off to receive more congratulations for her landmark from Hadlee. Meanwhile, perhaps, Downton was looking on wistfully. At least he knows the women’s one-day team are in safe hands.
