Pidley cricketer leads England to their second tournament triumph of the summer against Australia

CHARLOTTE EDWARDS spoke of her pride after leading England to their second tournament triumph of the summer and in doing so retaining their status as the world’s best team.

Pidley-born Edwards, 31, led the team to NatWest Women’s Quadrangular Series glory on Thursday, beating Australia by 34 runs in the final at Wormsley.

She said afterwards: “I’m really proud of the team for their performance, not just in the final but also throughout the rest of the series.

“We’ve worked hard and seen contributions throughout the team and once again raised our game in an important final.

“It’s been a great summer series and fantastic to play against the top teams in the world.

“I’m delighted with what we have achieved and to retain our number one status means everything to me.”

The win over Australia avenged a seven-wicket defeat in the final round-robin game 48 hours earlier, which had ended England’s six-match unbeaten run.

Although their place in the final had already been sealed with earlier victories over New Zealand and India.

Opener Edwards joint-top scored for England with 51 against India, although will have been disappointed not to have scored more runs than she did (85) during the series.

The success also came hot on the heels of their Twenty20 quadrangular series glory, which involved the same nations.