Heather Knight to succeed Charlotte Edwards as England women's team captain

London, United Kingdom:  Heather Knight will succeed retired batting great Charlotte Edwards as captain of the England women’s team, it was announced on Friday.

Last month saw Edwards call time on a pioneering 20-year career that included leading England to glory in the Ashes, World Cup and ICC World Twenty20, winning a world-record 309 caps and scoring over 10,000 runs across all formats. [caption id=“attachment_2816048” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] New England captain Heather Knight. Reuters[/caption] However, the 36-year-old Edwards, whose career saw women’s cricket move from an amateur to a professional sport, was effectively forced to retire by England women’s coach Mark Robinson. That followed a disappointing women’s World Twenty20 in India where Robinson reckoned England “wilted” during a semi-final defeat by a more youthful Australia side. Now the leadership has passed to 25-year-old former vice-captain Knight, who said on Friday: “There is a lot of change going on but sometimes change brings out the best in people. “There are some really exciting young players coming through the academy and now the (English domestic T20 women’s) Super League is starting this summer that will really help with that.” Robinson added: “We have an outstanding individual in Heather Knight. “She is stubborn, she has her own opinion which is absolutely how it should be, she is comfortable in her own skin, she is comfortable in her own company and they are great qualities to have in a captain. “She is already a very good player now and they were the qualities that hit me straight away when I met Heather, in the same way as when I met Lottie (Edwards).” Knight’s first series as skipper will come when England are at home to Pakistan in three one-day internationals later this month.