Charlotte Marie Edwards (born 17 December 1979) is an English former cricketer who now works as a coach and commentator. A right-handed batter, she represented England across all three international formats between 1996 and 2016, appearing in 23 Test matches, 191 One Day Internationals and 95 Twenty20 Internationals. At the time of her Test debut against New Zealand in 1996, she was the youngest woman to play for England.
Edwards played domestic cricket in England for East Anglia, Kent, Hampshire and Southern Vipers. She also turned out overseas for Northern Districts, Western Australia, Perth Scorchers, South Australia and Adelaide Strikers. The day before her 18th birthday in 1997, she scored 173 not out against Ireland, which remains the highest individual score by an English player in a Women's One Day International. She holds records including the most WODI appearances for England and is England's all-time leading run-scorer in both WODIs and Women's Twenty20 Internationals, as well as the second-leading run-scorer in Women's Tests for England.
Edwards first captained England in 2005 and took on the role permanently in 2006 following the retirement of Clare Connor. Under her leadership, England won the 2009 Women's Cricket World Cup, the 2009 ICC Women's World Twenty20 and three outright Ashes series. She remained captain until England's exit from the 2016 ICC Women's World Twenty20, after which she was informed that she was not part of the team's future plans and subsequently retired from international cricket. She continued to play domestic cricket for Hampshire and Southern Vipers.
She has received wide recognition within the game. She was named ICC Women's Cricketer of the Year in 2008, and was honoured as PCA Women's Player of the Year and a Wisden Cricketer of the Year in 2014. She was appointed MBE in 2009 and CBE in 2014. In 2022, she was inducted into the ICC Cricket Hall of Fame, and she is widely regarded as one of the most significant figures in women's cricket.
Adapted from the English Wikipedia article on Charlotte Edw