Women's regional T20 competition named Charlotte Edwards Cup

The move follows a similar decision in 2020 to name the 50-over tournament after Rachael Heyhoe Flint, another major figure in the women’s game

The new women’s regional T20 competition, which begins this weekend, has been named the Charlotte Edwards Cup, in honour of the former England captain.

Edwards, who is head coach of the Southern Vipers hub, played in the first-ever T20I – a match between England and New Zealand at Hove in 2004 – and remains her country’s leading run-scorer in the format.

The move follows a similar decision in 2020 to name the 50-over tournament after Rachael Heyhoe Flint, another major figure in the women’s game.

Edwards is still very much involved, having only relinquished the captaincy of the national side in 2016, while she coached Southern Vipers to glory in the inaugural regional competition last season. Previously, she captained the team in its Kia Super League guise to the title in its first year; she is also set to coach Southern Brave in The Hundred.

Edwards said: “It’s a huge honour to have my name attached to the competition. The regional players who'll take part in the competition are at the beginning of such an exciting journey, and the pathway has progressed and developed so far since I was in their position.

“I hope, like we saw with the Rachael Heyhoe Flint (Trophy), that players from across the eight teams can continue to impress at regional level and push hard for international selection. The new domestic set-up is a real game-changer for women's cricket in this country and I'm really proud to be a part of it.”

^{Charlotte Edwards captained England for a decade}

Clare Connor, ECB managing director of women’s cricket and a former teammate of Edwards, added: “It’s powerful to be able to connect the women’s regional game with such iconic figures in women’s cricket. Last year we named the 50-over competition after Rachael Heyhoe Flint, and now this.

“There are numerous individuals who have served English cricket with distinction who we could have chosen, but we felt with Lottie's relevance to the T20 game and her excellence as a player in the international T20 format, it was most fitting for the competition to take her name.

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“Lottie is a true legend of English cricket. She led from the front as a player and she's now giving back to the game as a coach, helping our domestic players have the best chance of potentially going on to represent the national side. The players who will compete in the Charlotte Edwards Cup can now realistically aspire to stepping up to compete on the international stage, and that's truly exciting.”

Edwards is England’s most-capped player of all time, having held the captaincy for a decade, winning the Ashes on three occasions, as well as the World T20 and the 50-over World Cup.