Ramsey cricketer Charlotte wins a prestigious presidential election

Edwards made her senior England debut at 16 in 1996 and went on to make more than 300 appearances for her country across all formats of the game.

She scored over 10,000 runs at the top of the England batting order in an international career that lasted 20 years.

Edwards replaces former England captain and coach Graham Gooch at the head of the players’ union. She was elected at the PCA annual general meeting yesterday (February 25).

Edwards said: “I’m hugely honoured to be given such a prestigious title as president of the PCA. It’s an exciting time for women’s cricket and I’m really excited about what I can bring to the role.

“The introduction of 41 new female members to the PCA has shown it’s the right time to have a female president, but I’m passionate about looking after the interests of the men’s game as well in order to help cricket thrive as a whole.

“I’ve done a lot of work with the PCA, on and off the field, and it’s been quite the journey from being an amateur, to becoming a PCA member in 2011 and now helping to support the next generation of players in this role.

“The game has given me so much and now this is the perfect opportunity for me to give something back.”

Edwards is one of cricket’s most decorated figures. A four-time Ashes winner, Edwards was England captain when they won both limited-overs World Cups in 2009, while she remains the country’s leading run-scorer in both women’s one-day internationals and T20s. She skippered England on over 200 occasions.

Edwards was awarded an MBE in 2009 and a CBE in 2014. She was the second woman to be named as one of cricket bible Wisden’s ‘five cricketers of the year.’

PCA chair James Harris said: “There is huge respect amongst the PCA membership for what Charlotte has achieved in the game.”