Sailing towards success

Charlotte Edwards is ready to navigate England to more success during the summer

After spending time with her hands on the wheel of a SeaFrance ferry en route to Calais, Charlotte Edwards is now ready to steer England to more success over the next 12 months.

Although more comfortable peering from underneath her England cap, Edwards wore a hat of a different sort as she and the rest of her team-mates launched a busy summer of international cricket by crossing the Channel.

The team then had a rendezvous on deck once the ferry docked in France to play a game of cricket on the helipad with stray deliveries being smashed into the sea on a regular basis.

"It's been an interesting day," said the England captain. "It was good fun playing cricket on the helipad. For us it's nice to get together and do a light-hearted thing."

There were plenty of smiles and banter on board but Edwards knows the serious business starts next Friday with back-to-back one-day internationals against West Indies at Loughborough. South Africa and India lie in wait later in the summer.

"I'm looking forward to it, I can't wait to get playing again," added Edwards, her huge grin highlighting her obvious excitement.

"For us to get our England shirts back on is the highlight of the summer. We have more one-dayers than we have ever had. We just want to get out there and playing.

Edwards spent time on the ship's bridge on Tuesday

"It's going to be a big summer. India will probably be a harder test so hopefully we will be hitting our straps by then."

Edwards and her team-mates have an exciting year ahead with the World Cup in Australia scheduled for March closely followed by the ICC World Twenty20 competition which is being held in England.

In a change to the inaugural tournament that was held in South Africa last year, next summer's World Twenty20 sees the women's tournament being run parallel to the men's giving England Women a unique chance to showcase their talent.

The women's semi-finals will be played on the same day and at the same venue as the men, meaning Edwards could lead her team out to play in front of a huge crowd at either the Oval or Trent Bridge. Should they reach the final, then the women will play at Lord's just hours before the men battle it out for the World Twenty20 crown.

"There is a lot going on but it's important to keep focused on the here and now," said Edwards, who insists she will not get carried away with what lies at the end of the rainbow.

"It's difficult when you know what's coming in the future with all the recent announcements but we have to take one series at a time."

England women's cricket is on a high at the moment. Memories of last winter's Ashes victory Down Under are still vivid but the chance to create more history awaits. Edwards believes she has the right tools at her disposal to navigate the side to success on the world stage.

Edwards celebrates a wicket during Tuesday's launch

"We have the right ingredients," she said. "We have the right blend of players, ones who are going to give 110 per cent. We all get on really well. It's like playing with your best mates and you don't want to let your best mates down.

"They are a great bunch of girls, they will do anything which makes it easy for me as a captain. We have some characters like Ebs [Ebony Rainford-Brent] and Squirt [Sarah Taylor], but equally the quiet ones are just as important. There are no big 'I ams' - that's brilliant. No-one thinks they are bigger for the team. We all play for each other.

"There is competition for places too which is great. I love it when there are people coming through. That puts pressure on people in the side. I want this team to be as successful as possible."