Charlotte Edwards needs 'thinking time' as she considers England coach vacancy

Charlotte Edwards has said she will need some "thinking time over the next few weeks" to weigh up whether she should apply for the vacancy of England women's head coach.

Edwards, who captained England from 2006 to 2016, has developed her reputation as a coach since her professional retirement in 2017 and is widely considered to be the front-runner for the role after Lisa Keightley confirmed this week that she would step down when her contract expires at the end of this summer.

Edwards coached Southern Brave to the final of the inaugural Hundred last year while her Southern Vipers side have won the 50-over Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy twice and lifted the T20 trophy - named the Charlotte Edwards Cup in her honour - earlier this year. In May, she was appointed Sydney Sixers coach for the WBBL, and will be a leading candidate to coach a team in the Women's IPL next year.

"My phone has been a bit red-hot this week," Edwards told Sky Sports before her Brave side beat London Spirit in their season-opener at the Ageas Bowl, "but I haven't given it much thought.

"You know I'm ambitious, you know I love England, and at some point I do want to coach England. I'm not going to shy away from that.

"But at the moment, this [the Hundred] is my priority - and my work here at the Vipers, which I absolutely love. It's going to have to be a big job to take me away from what I'm doing at the moment.

"I want to develop myself as a coach, and one of the reasons I took on the Sydney Sixers role is to develop myself and take on a head coach role in a different country. And the IPL is very appealing, it is. But I'm England through and through and I love my country. I think I've got to have a lot of thinking time over the next few weeks."

Danni Wyatt, who top-scored in Brave's chase against Spirit, said that Edwards would be a good option if she decided to apply for the role. "We are very lucky to have her here at the Vipers and the Brave," she told the ECB Reporters Network. "She is a fantastic coach and she brings out the best in all the players.

"She knows what we all need individually, knows what we need to do in training and everyone's game inside and out. If she wants to do it, I'm sure she will be a good coach for England. We saw what a great leader she was when she was captain for England.

"She really cares about every player, she knows what works for the individual and she is so passionate - which is so contagious. She wants us to win and get the best out of everyone."