Edwards announces professional retirement

Charlotte Edwards has announced her retirement from the professional game after leading Southern Vipers to a runners-up finish in the second Kia Super League.

Edwards, 37, quit international cricket last year, after being removed from the England captaincy. She continued to play domestically and lifted the inaugural KSL title in 2016 but could not repeat the feat at Hove, where her side lost to Western Storm.

Afterwards, Edwards confirmed she would no longer be involved in professional leagues, such as the KSL and Women's Big Bash, which have only recently become established in the women's game.

"I think I would like to play some county cricket but in terms of this competition and playing overseas this is it, my time is done and I want to pursue other things such as coaching and perhaps some media work," she said. "I am happy and content with what I have achieved in my career, I have loved every minute of it."

Edwards was a pioneer of women's cricket, having begun when skirts were still the uniform and ended shortly after the introduction of professional contracts.

Since hanging up her bat after a 20-year England career, in which she lifted the World Cup and World T20 as captain, Edwards has taken up commentary roles with Sky and the BBC. She was also recently engaged to do some coaching work with the USA women's team.

"I haven't got anything final lined up in terms of coaching," Edwards said. "I have spoken to the ECB about potentially working with their junior age groups and hopefully help a lot of the good talent we have got in England develop. I am not envious of the youngsters, I just hope they can grab the incredible opportunities there are now. It is a brilliant time to be involved in the women's game and hopefully the game in this country will continue to grow."

Edwards scored an unbeaten 20 from eight balls in her final innings, batting down the order at No. 7, but could not prevent Western Storm from coasting to a seven-wicket win.

"I just wanted to enjoy today and full credit to the Western Storm, they played brilliantly and it was a fantastic innings by Rachel Priest for them," she said.