Edwards sets sight on future after England’s disappointing semis exit sees her call the side a work in progress.
Edwards ‘looks to the future’ after England’s chastening semi-final exit.
After declaring that it is “time to look to the future” in the wake of a devastating semi-final loss to South Africa in Guwahati, England’s head coach, Charlotte Edwards, admits that her team’s poor World Cup campaign has made her even more eager to implement the required adjustments.
In an interview with Sky Sports shortly after England’s 125-run loss, Edwards praised the skill of South Africa’s matchwinners, Laura Wolvaardt, who won Player of the Match for her 169 from 143 balls, and Marizanne Kapp, whose five wickets, including a first-over double-wicket maiden, destroyed England’s chances of reaching a 320 target.
Edwards did not sugarcoat England’s campaign’s fundamental vulnerability. Their performances against Bangladesh and Pakistan had already revealed their batting shortcomings, even though they qualified in second place with five wins out of seven in the group stages. However, the tournament favourites Australia maintained the grip of last winter’s Ashes whitewash with a decisive six-wicket victory in Indore.
Although Edwards succeeded her predecessor Jon Lewis in April, she refrained from making significant changes to her team for this winter, preferring to concentrate on making improvements within the current configuration.
“I’m a winner,” Edwards said. “I don’t like losing. When I came into this role, I knew it wasn’t going to change overnight. I’ve seen some really positive things to come out of this trip. I think we’ve performed a little bit better under pressure, but certain moments we haven’t seized, and that’s going to be an ongoing thing.
“Overall, we are making progress, and that’s the most important thing. But ultimately, you’re defined on your results. And today we’re going out of a World Cup in the semi-final stage, where we were all hopeful we could really make that final.”
“I knew it wasn’t going to be a quick fix. We’ve got some areas we need to work on, but that probably makes me more hungry now to go back home and work with these players over over the winter period.”