Charlotte Edwards laments ‘15 poor overs’ that cost England a Women’s ODI World Cup final spot
Charlotte Edwards is not one to mince words. When she took over the reins of the England women’s side from Jon Lewis after a brutal 0-16 Ashes thrashing, her priorities were clear. Improve the side’s fielding, get the players to play more cricket, particularly at the domestic level, with a priority on the 50-over format, and establish a culture of honesty within the team and with oneself.
Seven months down, Edwards stands holding the ashes of a second failed World Cup campaign (her first) in 12 months. The four-time champion was cast out of the semifinals courtesy a 125-run thumping at the hands of South Africa at the ACA Stadium here on Wednesday.
“We all witnessed an incredible innings from Laura Wolvaardt. I think any player that gets 160-odd is probably going to be on the winning team more times than not and Marizanne Kapp’s spell – I think they were pivotal moments within the game. A lot of credit has to go to the South Africans and how they played,” Edwards told reporters after her side’s tame finish to the tournament.
The 45-year-old narrowed the loss down to 15 crucial overs. “They scored 120 off the back 10 and we lost three wickets in the first five overs. The game turned there.”
MATCH REPORT | Wolvaardt, Kapp help South Africa thrash England
Wolvaardt and Co. smacked 117 runs in just 60 balls, with the English bowlers having no idea how to stem the bleed. While Sophie Ecclestone was respectfully seen off, everyone else went for upwards of 12 per over. Linsey Smith, who South Africa batters couldn’t read to save their lives in that 69 all-out campaign opening performance, was carted for 69 runs in her 10 overs.
“Our death bowling and obviously our first 10 batting, and I think that’s ultimately been quite critical in this game.”
England, since winning the 2017 Women’s ODI World Cup, has found it difficult to hold its nerve in many keys events, including the 2022 ODI showpiece final, the 2022 Commonwealth Games semifinal against India, the 2023 T20 World Cup semifinal against South Africa and a do-or-die T20 World Cup group game against West Indies last year.
It was the same story here with the top three – Amy Jones, Tammy Beaumont and Heather Knight – vanishing within two overs with just a solitary run on the board. Skipper Nat Sciver-Brunt, who, as she has been many times for England, was the side’s best batter, had often said England was yet to play its perfect game this tournament. Turns out, that game would never come.
“I think we’ve got to keep improving in all aspects. What I have been really pleased with is our fielding throughout this competition. I think that’s been a real area of improvement for us as a team. Our batting has to improve in terms of the middle order and playing against spin. We also need to look at our bowling across phases. I think we’ve not put a whole game together as a team, and that’s something we’ll be going away looking at,” said Edwards.
She also defended her decision to largely stick to the same playing XI. This meant players like Lauren Filer, Em Arlott and Sarah Glenn missed out on matches.
“Emma Lamb, Sophia Dunkley and Alice Capsey had performed brilliantly coming into this tournament and I’m not the type of coach who’s just going to keep swapping and changing. We knew Danni Wyatt-Hodge has played 300 games for England so we knew she could fit right in and she showed today that she can just zip into that position. People will look at that and think maybe we should have brought her in earlier. But we got to this point in the tournament and we’re really comfortable with the selections we’ve made throughout,” she explained.
While the ecosystem unanimously agrees that this ODI World Cup came a little too soon in the Edwards-Sciver-Brunt era, there will be no considerations when the Women’s T20 World Cup comes calling, at home no less.
“The T20 World Cup will be our focus now from when the players come back in December through to the English summer, where we will be playing at home. We will be in various camps to sort through some younger players. Now is not the time to say who’s coming in or going out. It’s a time for reflecting. There’s been some good stuff and things we need to improve.”
England will take stock of its player armoury and come up with solutions. “It is going to be a sad dressing room. There is nothing you can do to make things better. Life moves on pretty quickly. I am hurting too,” Edwards told Sky Sports.
“I came into this role knowing it would not change overnight. I don’t like losing but I knew what I took on and it would not be a quick fix,” she added.
Published on Oct 30, 2025
