Edwards gets CBE in honours list

Charlotte Edwards, who was this week named England women's Player of the Year, has been awarded a CBE for services to cricket after captaining the team to back-to-back Ashes wins in 2013 and 2014. Edwards' team-mate Jenny Gunn, who played in both series, also gets a MBE in the Queen's birthday honours list.

Edwards made her international debut as a teenager and has captained England for the best part of a decade, leading the team to World Cup and World T20 wins in 2009. Earlier this year, she was named one of Wisden's Cricketers of the Year, becoming only the second woman to receive the accolade.

Gunn, the vice-captain, became England's leading international wicket-taker during the 2013 Ashes and played a full part in the World T20 campaign during March and April, which ended in defeat to Australia in the final.

"I am absolutely delighted," Edwards said. "This is a huge honour and rounds off an extraordinary year for me and the England women's side. I am so proud of everything that the team has achieved over the last 12 months - to win back-to-back Women's Ashes Series and reach a World Twenty20 final is pretty special."

David Collier, the ECB chief executive, added: "On behalf of everyone at the ECB, I would like to pass on our sincere congratulations to Charlotte Edwards and Jenny Gunn on their CBE and MBE awards. This is fitting recognition for both players after leading the England women's side during an exceptionally successful 12 months for the team.

"Charlotte, Jenny and their England team-mates are all wonderful ambassadors for the wider women's game, and through their work with Chance to Shine they act as inspirational role models for young players in schools across the country."

There was also an MBE for Ken Lake, who has been general secretary of the English Schools Cricket Association for more than 20 years and helps support the ECB's junior cricket competitions. Dr Paul Hawkins, the founder of Hawk-Eye's ball-tracking technology, which forms a key part of the Umpire Decision Review System, is to receive an OBE.