England skipper Charlotte Edwards helped her team post a match-winning total with a timely century against India. With the defending champions keen to open their account in the 2013 ICC Women’s World Cup, Edwards, while leading from the front, posted 109 after India asked them to bat first. In the process, the 33-year-old overtook former Australian player, Belinda Clark, as the highest female run-scorer in cricket. She also surpassed the 1000-run mark in World Cup competition during today’s match.
Speaking about her knock, Edwards said, “I came into this game not in particularly great form, especially in one-day cricket. So, for me to perform when the team needs me, it is probably up there with some of my best hundreds, in terms of the circumstances. As for the record, it is about the team, it is not about me. That is something for me to look at, at the end of my career. Don’t get me wrong, am very proud of that, but Belinda Clark is a much better player than me.”
“It feels a lot better sitting here having won after Friday [after the loss to Sri Lanka]. Today was about character for our team, to play India in India, which is always going to be tough for us. Very proud of the team today. It is very important that we continue the standards we have set today.”
Discussing her innings further, she said, “After the first five overs, I thought 170 might be a good score. But once you got in on the wicket, it is tough early on. Once you bide through that, and I thought we were probably going to go up to 290 before I got out. I am not disappointed, but I thought we could have got a few more runs. Obviously, that was enough runs out there; so very pleased with that.”
“I think it showed that if someone bats through and someone gets a hundred, it is a lot easier. It is pretty hard to stop you going through towards the end. It is a great pitch out there. I don’t think anyone knows what a par score is here. I am just happy we got enough today,” she added.
Asked if she too would have opted to bowl first, Edwards replied, “I knew when I did the toss this morning, as it fell down, and I saw all the bowlers put their heads down, they really wanted to bowl on it. But sometimes it takes pressure off you a little bit when you are sent in to bat, and it put pressure on India.”
While speaking about what she had told her team after losing their first game, she said, “We asked [our team] for a big performance today. That day [against Sri Lanka] we dropped a few catches, which really cost us. We didn’t get off to a great start. This is the England team I know and love and that is the standard we have got to set for ourselves for the rest of the tournament. The loss hurt the team, and to come back like that, I am really proud of the team.”
