Charlotte Edwards England women's head coach

Nine years after stepping down as England captain, Charlotte Edwards has been appointed as the side's new head coach. She's tasked with leading the side out of one of their lowest ebbs in the wake of a devastating Ashes defeat and early T20 World Cup exit. As she gears up to officially take-over the reigns next week, she already has a brimming in-tray.

Choose Knight's successor

The most pressing decision for Edwards to make is who she will pick as the new captain. England Women's captains have been statesman-like appointments over the past few decades, Edwards herself captaining the side for a decade before Heather Knight took over. In all, England have had three captains this century, with all of those having acted as ambassadors for the development of the women's game as well as on-field leaders. There's scope for this role to morph under Edwards, who through her own identity acts as that flagship. Nevertheless, whoever is appointed will have to manage a strong group of senior players, as well as taking command on the field.

Speaking 24 hours after she was announced as head coach, Edwards said she had a "fair idea" of who that person would be. However, there are micro-decisions in that appointment which will be telling for the future. Appointing a senior player will have to strike a balance between a continuation of the status quo, while also overseeing an overhaul of results and the team culture. There's also a decision to be made over whether to split the captaincy, with short-term success needed in ODIs ahead of the World Cup later this year, and longer-term planning possible in T20Is with a home World Cup in 2026. Whether a short-term appointment makes more sense than another long-term figurehead will also have to be considered.

Overhaul the team culture

An enduring theme of England's winter losses was a feeling of staleness. Despite the domestic system's increasing professionalisation, the same core of players – Heather Knight, Amy Jones, Nat Sciver-Brunt, Danni Wyatt-Hodge among others - continue to form the basis of each squad. While Edwards does have decisions over the playing personnel to make, a much bigger task will be injecting freshness into an environment that has looked listless at times. In the Ashes, it was glaringly England's fielding that fell far short of Australia's standards, culminating in a day of dropped catches in the Test in Melbourne. Edwards must increase both expectations and standards of performance across the board from the most senior to the most junior players.

There's another question about who enforces this culture. England have assistant and departmental coaches left over from the Lewis regime and before. Whether Edwards launches a clear-out of those figures to bring in the kinds of names she's worked with from her various franchise and domestic roles is another decision. "There are some wonderful coaches on the England staff," said Edwards. "I'm going to be working with them, but one thing I want to do is engage with more female coaches within the England team... Also on certain tours, in certain environments bringing in consultant coaches to support the team because I think it's a really good thing to get different people into the environment to keep it fresh."

Make England World Cup contenders

There is now never not a major tournament on the horizon, but there's an especially big one this winter. Edwards has just six months before England will travel to India for the 50-over World Cup. "Initially we've got to look at our 50-over game," said Edwards. "I think that's probably an area that we've underperformed in for a while...The 50-over game is probably going to be my first priority and making sure that we're prepared in six months' time for a World Cup in India."

The competition in India will present a familiar challenge to England, who were troubled by Alana King's spin over the winter and have a history of struggling in turning conditions. While Jon Lewis made motions to correct the issue, sending several batters out to a specialist spin camp in India in 2023, it's still one of the most pressing problems England face as a batting unit.

Solve England's pressure problem

In both England's major assignments over the winter, they went to pieces in high pressure scenarios. There was the game which knocked them out of the T20 World Cup against West Indies, as well as individual cases in the Ashes like the second ODI, where a late batting collapse saw them fail to chase 180. The frequency of major tournaments now means those scenarios come up more often than ever, and crumbling under pressure is a significant barrier to improving the ultimate judgement of a side – the trophies they bring home. England haven't won a trophy since 2017, the year after Edwards' playing departure.

Edwards stressed the importance of the new county structure in developing players abilities under pressure. "We keep talking about this pressure and being able to play in pressure moments. You only learn that by playing and being in those situations. We've got a lot of young players who for me haven't played enough cricket. I want them to experience more cricket, being put in those situations time and time again and earning your England cap."

Winning, by any means necessary

Following the Ashes defeat, Kate Cross admitted that England might have "lost a few fans" over the winter, as results and public criticism of the side mounted. Sophie Ecclestone's refusal to be interviewed by Alex Hartley as well as persistent questions over individual player fitness did little to help the public's perception. While key to changing that is, as Edwards puts it, "making players understand their responsibility as England cricketers," more important is results.

Edwards style marks a dramatic change from Jon Lewis, who's 'inspire and entertain' mantra was quoted by the side throughout his tenure. "I guess they've had this mantra of entertaining and inspiring the last little bit," said Edwards. "I think it's probably just changing their focus... But I think for me it's about their game smarts and their game awareness. It's about winning games, I'm under no illusions. I've come into this role and it's about winning."

In the short-term, with one eye on silverware in India, strong results against a West Indies side which put them out of the T20 World Cup, as well as against a strong India side over the summer will go a long way to earning those fans back they might have lost.

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