Photo Credit: Professional Cricketers’ Association
As part of PPF Inclusion in Sport Week, England legend Charlotte Edwards and Charlie Dean discuss women’s cricket.
As part of the Professional Players Federation’s (PPF) inaugural Inclusion in Sport Week, England legend Charlotte Edwards has sat down with current England spinner Charlie Dean on how women’s cricket has evolved during their time in the game.
A former PCA President, Edwards won over 300 caps for her country and scored over 10,000 runs in the process of her 20-year career. Now Head Coach at Southern Vipers, where she coaches Dean, she discussed how inclusion in cricket has changed over the years, claiming the best time in her career was when she was told she no longer had to wear a skirt to play cricket.
Sitting on the outfield at Hove following a Charlotte Edwards Cup fixture between the Vipers and South East Stars in front of 3,000 school children, it was a reminder of how far women’s cricket has progressed in recent years with Dean one of over 100 current professional female players in England and Wales.
Currently ranked in the top 10 in the ICC World Rankings across ODI and T20I bowlers, Dean and her international teammates are now paid the same match fees as England Men’s players. In the 15-minute conversation between the pair, they discussed their route into the game, how inclusion has transformed in recent years and the role of the PCA in fast-forwarding progression. Some excerpts from the discussion are below:
“We’ve got to build on what we’ve achieved in the last few years. We’re in a really good place now.”
CHARLOTTE EDWARDS
Dean on paying to play for Hampshire:
“I remember when we were playing together for Hampshire in 2017, we had to fork out a match fee for every game or we’d be really annoyed because we’d have to pay for our playing kit when others would get it for free.”
Edwards on The Hundred:
“The Hundred has been a game changer for women’s cricket. The one club, two team mentality has been one of the biggest success stories, it has really made the men’s and women’s teams feel properly integrated.”
Dean on The Hundred:
“Playing in The Hundred prepared me for representing England by playing in front of those bigger crowds, in bigger venues. The double headers have been great with getting a new audience watching women’s cricket. I feel like we’ve been treated as equals in The Hundred, whereas in the regional game, it can feel like you’re fighting to use facilities.”
Edwards on the Tier One structure and the future:
“We’ve got to build on what we’ve achieved in the last few years. We’re in a really good place now. The next step is about how we can commercialise domestic women’s cricket. Facilities is always a question as well, especially when next year there will be two professional teams training, changing and playing at the same ground.”
The Inclusion in Sport Week is an initiative led by the PPF. The Federation was established in 1991 to represent the collective interests of professional player associations in the United Kingdom. Including the PCA, its 12 member associations represent more than 17,500 athletes making the PPF the largest national federation of player associations in the world.
Working with members, the Federation is sharing players’ personal stories, delivering education and promoting best practice to make professional sport more inclusive throughout the week.
The key focus of the week will be an Inclusion in Sport event at the Kia Oval on Thursday 4 July. Attended by player association staff as well as representatives from governing bodies, clubs and leagues, the event will provide an opportunity to hear two cross sport panel discussions on Active Allyship and Inclusive Leadership.
