NICK FRIEND: The Hundred is the only piece of domestic silverware to have eluded Edwards so far, having won the Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy and the Charlotte Edwards Cup – the T20 tournament bearing her name – with Southern Vipers
Sophia Dunkley has given her backing to Charlotte Edwards to take over from Lisa Keightley as England Women's head coach when a vacancy opens up at the end of the summer.
Keightley has already announced that she will stand down following the upcoming series against India, having replaced Mark Robinson at the start of 2020.
Dunkley, an increasingly key part of England's side across all formats, has worked under Edwards through The Hundred at Southern Brave, losing in the finals of 2021 and 2022 against Oval Invincibles. Brave have lost just once in each year during the group stages, only to fall at Lord's on both occasions.
"She's been amazing to work under," Dunkley told The Cricketer. "I think the environment which she creates and the values that she sets are amazing. Everyone is clear on what they're doing and what the plan is.
"There's a great balance between a good work ethic and also having fun, which is really important – and not taking ourselves too seriously when it doesn't go well. It's nice to be part of a fresh, different environment from what I'm used to – I can definitely learn a lot from her.
"Definitely from a personal perspective, I've loved working under her. She's a great coach and she gives a lot to all the teams that she works for. Personally, I'd love to work with Lottie as much as I can."
The Hundred is the only piece of domestic silverware to have eluded Edwards so far, having won the Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy and the Charlotte Edwards Cup – the T20 tournament bearing her name – with Southern Vipers.
Edwards has led Southern Brave to consecutive Hundred finals (Harry Trump/Getty Images)
Her success in English cricket led to Sydney Sixers making her their new coach for the upcoming Women's Big Bash; she also accompanied England A on their tour of Australia last winter.
"It's great being able to pick her brains," added Dunkley, speaking at the launch of 'Your Pitches' - a video series looking back at how professional players discovered cricket as part of Hundred partner KP Snacks’ 'Everyone In' campaign. "She's obviously done it all and had all the experiences and probably had it harder in different times.
"I really listen to what she has to say, and I really trust her advice because you can't really get much better than Charlotte Edwards. I've made sure to ask a lot of questions and chew her ear off along the way.
"I think someone like Lottie, if you need anything technical, then she's there for it. If you want to talk tactics, then she's there for it. It's great to have someone like that who's so versatile. She reads each player really well."
It has previously been thought that Edwards might have reservations about taking on the role while there were still players in the national setup who had been teammates during her glittering career as captain, but it has also long been considered that she is destined to take up the role at some stage.
KP Snacks, Official Team Partner of The Hundred, are touring the country this summer to offer more opportunities for people to play cricket as part of their ‘Everyone In’ campaign. Find out more at https://www.everyonein.co.uk/discover
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