Charlotte Edwards Cup, 2022: All you need to know

The second edition of England's women's cricket Twenty20 domestic competition is set to begin on May 14. The Cricketer explains how it will work, who's taking part, and how the teams will be split up

What is it?

The 2022 Charlotte Edwards Cup is an English women's T20 domestic competition. It will feature eight teams playing in two double round-robin groups, followed by a Finals Day.

The tournament will run alongside the Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy, which is the 50-over domestic competition. The competition is named after former England captain Charlotte Edwards.

When does it start?

The first round of fixtures will take place on Saturday, May 14. The group stage of the competition concludes on June 5, with finals day on June 11 with a semi-final and final at Northampton.

Which teams are involved?

Group A

Central Sparks (Warwickshire CCC, Worcestershire CCC, Herefordshire, Shropshire, Staffordshire)

South East Stars (Surrey CCC, Kent CCC)

Sunrisers (Middlesex CCC, Essex CCC, Northamptonshire CCC, Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire, Hertfordshire, Huntingdonshire, Norfolk, Suffolk)

Western Storm (Glamorgan CCC, Gloucestershire CCC, Somerset CCC, Cornwall, Devon, Wiltshire, Cricket Wales)

^{Sterre Kalis has played 17 times for the Netherlands in T20Is (Steve Bardens/Getty Images)}

Group B

Lightning (Loughborough University, Derbyshire CCC, Leicestershire CCC, Nottinghamshire CCC, Lincolnshire)

Northern Diamonds (Yorkshire CCC, Durham CCC, Northumberland)

North West Thunder (Lancashire CCC, Cheshire, Cumbria)

Southern Vipers (Hampshire Cricket Ltd, Sussex CCC, Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, Dorset, Isle of Wight, Oxfordshire)

How does it work?

The teams will play in two groups, based on the finishing positions in last year's edition. The sides will play six group matches each in a round-robin format, facing the three sides in their pool twice.

Four points are awarded for each win, with a bonus point given where the winning team's run rate in 1.25 or greater times that of the opposition. Net run rate will be used to split teams in the event that they accrue the same number of points.

The two group winners and the best second-placed team advancing to Finals Day, to be played at the County Ground, Northampton. The group winner with the most points advances straight to the final, whilst the other two teams play off in a semi-final.

Who has won the competition before?

There has only been one edition of the Charlotte Edwards Cup – held last summer in 2021 – which was won by the South East Stars.

The Stars topped Group A by winning five of six games, advancing directly to the final where they comfortably beat Northern Diamonds thanks to an unbeaten 40 from 26 balls by rising star Alice Capsey.

^{Alice Capsey was player of the match in last year's final (Steve Bardens/Getty Images)}

Who's playing in it?

Each team's squad are made up of a number of domestic stars whose profiles have increased after The Hundred, as well as a raft of England internationals. The squads are majority English with a smattering of Welsh, Scottish, Irish, Dutch, and Australian players.

The likes of Heather Knight, Tammy Beaumont, and the rest of England's World Cup finalists will be available for the whole tournament, with the international summer starting on June 27 with a Test match against South Africa.

All of those involved in the competition will be paid to play, with the exception of those already on central contracts.

Who are the players to watch?

The next generation of England's batting line-up were the top scorers in last year's edition, and it would take a brave person to bet against the likes of Eve Jones (Central Sparks), Emma Lamb (North West Thunder), Georgia Adams (Southern Vipers), and Alice Capsey (South East Stars) to score the bulk of their respective teams' runs this season.

With all of England's stars available, the likes of Sophie Ecclestone, Kate Cross, and, recently retired international, Anya Shrubsole – now of Southern Vipers – will most likely be at the top of the wicket charts.

What have the organisers had to say?

ECB Managing Director of Women's Cricket, Clare Connor, said: "It's powerful to be able to connect the women's regional game with such iconic figures in women's cricket.

"There are numerous individuals who have served English cricket with distinction who we could have chosen, but we felt with Lottie's relevance to the T20 game and her excellence as a player in the international T20 format, it was most fitting for the competition to take her name.

"Lottie is a true legend of English cricket. She led from the front as a player and she's now giving back to the game as a coach, helping our domestic players have the best chance of potentially going on to represent the national side. The players who will compete in the Charlotte Edwards Cup can now realistically aspire to stepping up to compete on the international stage, and that's truly exciting."

Charlotte Edwards said: "It's a huge honour to have my name attached to the competition. The regional players who'll take part in the competition are at the beginning of such an exciting journey, and the pathway has progressed and developed so far since I was in their position."