‘It doesn’t matter if you’re 18 or 35’ - Charlotte Edwards stresses competition in England camp for World Cup contention

England Women’s head coach Charlotte Edwards has admitted that the team is currently low on confidence as she begins her tenure in challenging circumstances. Edwards took over the role in April, with the side arguably at one of the lowest points in its history. England endured a disastrous Ashes campaign, suffering a 16-0 defeat, following which head coach Jon Lewis and captain Heather Knight were both removed from their roles.

The England Women’s team have not been in action since their semi-final loss to South Africa at the Women’s World Cup in India. Their next assignment will be a limited-overs series against New Zealand, comprising both One-Day Internationals and T20 Internationals, starting on May 10. This series will serve as crucial preparation ahead of the T20 World Cup, which England are set to host in June and July.

"They were really low in confidence. That was probably the one thing that really stood out and that Ashes down under was a really hard one to get over for some of the players,” said Edwards to BBC Sport.

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Questions surrounding fitness and its impact on fielding dominated the early phase of Edwards’ tenure. In her initial weeks as head coach, Edwards made it clear that players would be held accountable for their fitness levels and promptly introduced minimum fitness standards. She also revealed that each player has been assigned an individual development plan and praised the squad’s response to the changes, stating that she could not speak highly enough of their commitment and attitude.

"Setting out some real clear professional standards that I expect and we expect as a group was really, really important. We were the best fielding team in the World Cup and to turn that around as quickly as we did from the Ashes is testament to the hard work the group has put in and the coaches as well," said Edwards.

Edwards reflected on the defeat to South Africa, stating that it served as a turning point to reassess the team’s future, with the winter period providing an ideal opportunity for that evaluation. She has worked not only with players from her recent squads but also with those next in line, including members of the Under-19 setup.

England have scheduled three training camps over the coming months, with the first set to take place this week in Oman. This will be followed by another camp in South Africa, after which the top 30 players in the country will travel to the United Arab Emirates for an intra-squad series.

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Deciding when to transition to the next generation is often one of the most challenging responsibilities for any head coach. Edwards now faces that decision with a group of players who have led the women’s game for a generation, as she looks to balance experience with the need to build for the future.

"We're going to be putting the best against the best and we'll get a very, very clear indication of where that next group of players are," Edwards said.

"We're trying to create that competitive edge now to our players so that it's not all done and dusted who's in the team. I spoke to the players the other day about that. I said everyone in this room is in contention of playing at a World Cup. It doesn't matter if you're 18 or 35,” she added.