Women’s T20 World Cup final: Charlotte Edwards says England ‘give fans back’ despite defeat

Head coach Charlotte Edwards says England have won back the fans despite their big loss to Australia in the Women’s T20 World Cup final.

Edwards, himself a World Cup-winning captain, was appointed to the role in 2025 after England’s disastrous Ashes campaign in which they were thrashed 16-0 in the multi-format points series.

During that series, England were particularly criticized for their fitness and fielding, and the team’s attitude and perception were also questioned.

Edwards has spoken candidly about his desire to change that narrative and after the defeat at Lord’s he said he was proud of how they had turned things around.

“I couldn’t be prouder of my group or where we are,” Edwards told BBC Test Match Special.

“People are talking positively about this team now, even though they weren’t when I took over, and that’s because of the work and effort the players have put in behind the scenes.

“And we’ve won the fans, because they came to see us today, which is fantastic, and I can’t thank the supporters and our families enough.

“We’re not talking about fitness or fielding, I wanted us to talk about cricket. So even though we missed out today, I don’t think we should be disappointed. This is a very, very good Australian team that has dominated world cricket for years and we’re not far off.”

A crowd of 28,887 attended the final, where both teams were unbeaten.

England set Australia 151 to win but they reached the target in 17.1 overs, as Beth Mooney led the way with a 49-ball 64 – and Edwards admitted that despite the improvement, his side were outclassed on the day.

“Lonely, really,” Edwards said, when told of his immediate emotions.

“We came here with a lot of belief and confidence to pull off something really special and I think we gave ourselves a good shout, it didn’t feel easy to bat.

“But they’re a very, very good team and we got completely beaten there in the end.”