England all-rounder Charlotte Edwards once led a boy’s under-19 side in Huntingdonshire
MUMBAI: England women’s cricket team captain Charlotte Edwards is known as female Freddie due to her effective all-round abilities similar to Andrew Flintoff. But she is disappointed that she is unable to bat, like Freddie does.
“He is one of the best all-round players in England. It is a huge honour to be called female Freddie and I take it as a compliment. Though I cannot bowl or bat like him, I wish I was as effective as he is. I like the way he smashes the ball which is quite difficult to stop. I wish I could bat like him one day and hit that hard,” said the 28-year-old Edwards, who was in Mumbai for the launch of Reliance Mobile ICC ODI Women’s Rankings at the Cricket Club of India on Thursday.
The batting all-rounder is excited with the new ODI rankings for women. “It is really exciting to have rankings in cricket. The competition will be tough now as everybody will work hard and display their skills to be the No. 1 player,” she added.
Charlotte, who has led the boys’ under-16 side for her town Huntingdonshire, said she enjoys playing with men. “It is really hard to play with boys because the game is very fast and also naturally they are much stronger. Mentally also it is quite difficult and also it’s challenging. But I enjoying playing with them,” she added.
The right-handed bat wants to play with international stars for some good competition. “I am hoping to play cricket with some great international players. We have quite a tight schedule in women’s cricket but once we get time we should have an exhibition match against men’s cricketers,” she said.
The winner of ICC’s women cricketer of the year said her most memorable win was against Australia last season. “Defeating Australia last season in the Ashes was the most memorable. It is always exciting to play against the Aussies. We have a series in the year and am looking forward to it,” she added.
Is the Ashes series between England and Australia eves different from what it is from men’s? “No, the excitement is same. We play that series with the similar kind of passion.”
“The matches are always tough and we always enjoy playing them. It is quite satisfying beating the Aussies,” said Charlotte, who has played 17 Tests and 117 one day internationals in her decade old career.
Charlotte is also excited with the new Twenty20 format. “Twenty20 is different from the usual. It is more fun and everyone gets a chance to express themselves and show their skills,” she added.
