Edwards named women's player of the year

Charlotte Edwards, the England captain, has been named women's player of the year for the second year running to emphasise her continued importance to the team.

During the last 12 months Edwards averaged 76.00 in seven ODIs and 59.33 in six Twenty20s. She captained England to two ODI series victories against India and New Zealand, alongside T20 series victories against South Africa and New Zealand.

Heather Knight, Anya Shrubsole and Sarah Taylor were the other nominees for the award.

Edwards' one century for the year came in the second ODI against India, at Scarborough, when her 108 gave England a total that proved just enough in a tight contest and earned two important points as part of the newly launched ICC Women's Championship, which is part of the qualification process for the next World Cup - to be held in England in 2017.

During the awards event at Lord's, Edwards was also presented with a silver England cap by the ECB's director of women's cricket, Clare Connor, to celebrate her 200th match as England captain. The feat was achieved during England's third T20 against New Zealand in February.

If only to emphasise the longevity of her career, which began in 1996, in the nine years she has held the captaincy there have been eight full-time captains of the men's teams across all formats.