Glad to end on a high: Edwards
First Published : 16 Feb 2013, 10:07
Last Modified : 18 Feb 2013, 11:22
With a comfortable victory over New Zealand at the Brabourne Stadium, England claimed the third spot in the 2013 ICC Women’s World Cup. Opening the innings for England, skipper Charlotte Edwards ensured a win for the team with an unbeaten century in their last match of the tournament.
A relieved Edwards said, “Today it was all about getting over the line and we did that with relative ease.”
Edwards, who herself reached a few landmarks during her knock, said, “When I came into this tournament, I had worked incredibly hard in the winter and not just on my skills [but] on my fitness as well; and it is nice to reap rewards of that, especially the two hundreds in this tournament, which I’m really proud of. It’s all about me contributing to the team, and today it was about us getting the third place and ending this tournament on a high.”
The England skipper became the first woman to score 5000 runs in ODIs and the third cricketer, after Debbie Hockley and Karen Rolton, to score two hundreds in one World Cup. She also equaled Claire Taylor and Rolton’s record of eight centuries in ODIs, as well as Janette Brittin’s record of four tons in World Cups.
Speaking about her achievements, the 33-year-old said, “For me they are things to look at at the end of my career. For me the most important thing is scoring hundreds for England and contributing to wins. But yes, I am proud of any landmarks I got to today.”
Asked about the England players who have stood out during the course of the tournament, she said, “I think Anya Sharubsole has been a real stand out for us. She’s led our attack brilliantly and she’s got a really bright future ahead of her. She will take a lot of confidence from her performances at this stage. Holly Colvin has been exceptional throughout the tournament – someone whom you would turn to in the middle overs of the game. Danny [Danielle Wyatt] has been opening out batting and there have been testing times for her; obviously, it’s not easy up front and she’s quick [and] set for the future. Heather Knight played well in the middle. So, we’ve got some good youngsters and sometimes I forget how young they are. I keep thinking they must be 26-27, but most of these girls I’m talking about are 21-22 and are learning the tricks of the trade, and performing at these sorts of events is probably going to help them in the future.”
Summing up England’s campaign in the tournament, she added, “I’ve really enjoyed it. It has been a great tournament. To see some of the cricket that has been played by all teams has been fantastic. When I look back losing one game by a wicket and one by two-three runs, it will hurt for a while, but I’m really proud of the England team for how they have stuck to their task throughout. There have been some real highs and lows throughout; we’ll go back, work hard and come back stronger. That’s all we can do. We’ve got a big Ashes series coming up and I’m really looking forward to playing in Australia.”
