Edwards' Southern Vipers side defeated Central Sparks by six wickets to lift the Charlotte Edwards Cup, their third trophy since the regional restructuring in summer 2020
Charlotte Edwards has her eyes set on completing the domestic double in 2022 after Southern Vipers lifted the Charlotte Edwards Cup in Northampton on June 11.
Vipers were unbeaten in the group stages, defeating Lightning, Thunder and Northern Diamonds home and away to automatically progress to the final before completing a six-wicket win over Central Sparks to take the T20 crown.
Southern Vipers have now won three trophies from a possible four since the regional restructuring in summer 2020 - they finished third in the 2021 Charlotte Edwards Cup - and with a 50-over three-peat within their grasp, Edwards is not taking her foot off the gas.
"I couldn’t feel prouder of this group - to go unbeaten and win seven from seven and to win in the fashion we have and improve every game. They’re a pretty special group to be part of at the moment," Edwards said.
"T20 was an area of focus for us this year. We didn’t play as well as we could have last year. Our goal is to win the double. We’ve done one bit of that now. We’ve got a massive part of the season to come in the 50-over stuff.
Edwards singled out Ella McCaughan [George Wood/Getty Images] and Freya Kemp [Ashley Allen/Getty Images] for praise
"The players have all been talking about 'bringing Charlotte back' to the Ageas for me and to do that today under the pressure they’ve been under, coming in as favourites, I’m really chuffed for them."
Edwards also praised for the depth of talent in the Southern Vipers squad, admitting the production line of young players caused some selection headaches.
"We’ve created competition for places. I’ve had some really tough selections over the last few weeks - people like Ella McCaughan, she’s 19, she’s hitting the winning runs for us today [and] Freya Kemp, she’s 17," Edwards said.
"We just keep producing players and hopefully they will go on and play for England which is another part of our job. We seem to be doing both at the moment, which I’m really proud of."
Though disappointed to miss out on silverware, Central Sparks captain Eve Jones was full of pride after her side reached their maiden final: "We were really chuffed we got to the final. It was one of our aims before the competition started to make Finals Day. We're really proud of the girls for getting this far.
"Obviously, we’re disappointed on the day that we couldn't quite get over the line. But congratulations to Southern Vipers - they’ve had a really good tournament, they’ve gone undefeated, so, they fully deserve it."
Addressing the contribution of Amy Jones, who picked up the player of the tournament award for her 289 runs, she added: "She's been unbelievable for us, both with the bat and with the gloves. It's great to have her around for the full competition.
"She's been a key player for us and hopefully, we might have her for a few Rachael Heyhoe Flint games."
Welcome to www.thecricketer.com - the online home of the world’s oldest cricket magazine. Breaking news, interviews, opinion and cricket goodness from every corner of our beautiful sport, from village green to national arena.