BRINGING The Ashes home to England is the greatest achievement of her career, according to England ladies cricket star Charlotte Edwards. Edwards, from Pidley, captained her side to victory and hit the winning runs as her side won a test series down unde

BRINGING The Ashes home to England is the greatest achievement of her career, according to England ladies' cricket star Charlotte Edwards.

Edwards, from Pidley, captained her side to victory and hit the winning runs as her side won a test series down under for the first time in 73 years.

"As the test wore on we were slowly becoming aware of what we were about to achieve," said Edwards. "I had to remind everyone that there was still a job that needed doing."

Edwards, 28, admitted she was carrying a knee injury going into the final day of the test and had been advised by the team's physio not to field.

"There was no way they were keeping me off the pitch unless they tied me to the ground," she said. "I wanted to be out there more than anything."

Held at the Bradman Oval in New South Wales, the test match was the single fixture in the Ashes series which England also won in 2005.

Helped by Edwards' fine knock of 94, England secured a 90-run lead in the first innings before restricting Australia to 231-9 declared in their second innings.

Edwards and Claire Taylor broke a 40-year-old record stand for the third wicket against Australia by recording a 159 partnership in the first innings.

With Australia declaring in the vague hope of bowling the tourists out, England were left needing 142 runs for victory in their final innings and, troubled by her knee, Edwards put her faith in her young team-mates by dropping down the order.

In the event, 21 runs were needed when Edwards came to the crease with the score at 121-4 - thanks to another outstanding innings from Taylor, who added to her knock of 79 from the first innings.

It was left to Edwards to hit the winning runs, something she described as an "unbelievable experience".

After the hubbub of the match, and the celebrations, had died down, Edwards, who dedicated the win to her late father Clive, told The Hunts Post the win was the finest moment of her career.

Today (Wednesday) Edwards flies from Australia to New Zealand where she will lead her side in a five-match one day international series against the Kiwis.

Back home in Pidley, Edwards' mother Yvonne told The Hunts Post: "She knows that the sky is the limit for this team and she could be at the start of something very special.