Huntingdonshire cricketer and England captain Charlotte Edwards named Wisden’s Cricketer of the Year

England Ladies cricket captain Charlotte Edwards coaching at Bushmead Primary School (Image: Archant)

Ms Edwards, whose England side missed out in the World Twenty20 final to Australia on Sunday, is the second female player to win the award when she was named as one of Wisden’s five Cricketers of the Year.

The other awards went to England batsman Joe Root, Australians Ryan Harris and Chris Rogers and Shikhar Dhawan, the top run-scorer in India’s Champions Trophy title.

The 34-year-old has been an Ashes winner five times - captaining the last four victories - and won the inaugural World Twenty20 tournament in 2009.

Her performance in the Ashes tour in England last year, where the opener scored 50s in the first two one-day internationals as England came from behind to retain the Ashes.

Ms Edwards, who started her England debut aged 16, told the England and Wales Cricket Board: “Not only is it great recognition for me, but it’s fantastic for the game that again a female player has been named.

“It shows how much the game is growing and how the profile has risen in the time I’ve been playing.

“These kind of awards I would not have dreamt of winning when I was starting my career when I was 16.

“To think of all the players that have come before me who have won these awards, it makes me feel very proud.”

She added: “I feel very honoured to be named as the second female player to win the award. I think it hasn’t quite sunk in really. I’ve known for a while, but I’ve not been able to say anything.

“The two Ashes wins have been two of the biggest highlights of my career and certainly winning in Australia is one of my greatest achievements as a captain, and scoring the runs to win the Ashes is a moment I’ll never forget.

“It’s been an unbelievable 12 months for us as a team. It’s just a shame we couldn’t top that off on Sunday and win another global event. That just wasn’t to be and I’m still very proud of the 12 months we’ve had. To contribute to that and get that kind of recognition is fantastic.”