Charlotte Edwards named new Sydney Sixers' WBBL coach

Former England captain Charlotte Edwards has been named Sydney Sixers' new WBBL head coach as the club looks to turn around three seasons of poor results.

Edwards, who is also coach of Southern Vipers in county cricket and has been an Adelaide Strikers assistant coach for five seasons, replaces Ben Sawyer who has been in charge of Sixers' since the start of the WBBL and is now full-time with the Australia women's team.

Sixers have missed the finals for the last three seasons - including finishing last for the first time in 2021-22 - having previously been back-to-back champions and twice runners up.

"I'm extremely excited to be offered the role with the Sixers who are one of the most successful women's domestic teams in the world," Edwards said. "The vision for the Sixers is to bring back trophies for the club.

"More importantly is the way we do that, and I think the way we do that is to play a really exciting and entertaining style of cricket that hopefully the fans are proud of and want to come and watch. That means a lot to me and the group."

New South Wales' head of female cricket, Leah Poulton, paid tribute to Sawyer while welcoming the new era for the Sixers.

"Ben has been a wonderful leader over many years at the Sixers and he's done a fantastic job developing a generation of players," Poulton said. "We are proud not just of Ben's achievements but also of the way in which he worked so hard to build a culture within the team and a connection with our members and fans.

"Charlotte brings with her extensive leadership experience and a reputation for bringing out the best in those around her. She has already demonstrated a clear vision for the team, it's an exciting brand of cricket which I'm sure will appeal to our fans."

Edwards will remain head coach of Vipers and resume her role with them after the WBBL season is complete. The tournament runs during October and November.

Sixers have seven of their WBBL list contracted including Australia stars Alyssa Healy and Ashleigh Gardner with Ellyse Perry expected to re-sign. The contracting embargo for the league has recently been lifted so deals can now be completed.

Last season's overseas players were India duo Shafali Verma and Radha Yadav. Verma struggled as she was shuffled around the order and averaged just 17.36. Left-arm spinner Yadav collected nine wickets with an economy rate of 6.81.