Edwards proud of her achievement
England women's captain Charlotte Edwards is proud of the fact that she is all set to become the most capped player in the history of women's One-Day International cricket.
The England captain is to play her 142nd match on Wednesday against Sri Lanka at P Sara Oval as she overtakes Australia's Karen Rolton to achieve the feat.
"It is obviously a proud moment for me. I am proud of the fact that I managed to make it. Playing for England for all these years has been a very special thing. But more than the personal milestone it is the team that matters. We have an exciting line-up this year, especially with the Ashes later on," said Edwards.
It has been a long journey for Edwards since her debut way back in 1997 against South Africa and today that day seems a bit too distant for her.
"It has been quite a long time for me. I do not have great memory of that day. I remember being nervous on that. I was around 16-17 then, it was a proud moment obviously because it was my first game and first cap," recalled Edwards.
As she played her 142nd match, Edwards went past one of her old adversaries, Rolton from Australia. The two have had many battles during their careers. And today, Edwards has only high praise for the former Australia star.
"I have played Karen on a number of occasions. She is the best batter I have played against. It is a really special moment so for me. Karen is a one of the greats of the game. Along with Belinda Clark, Cathy Fitzpatrick she formed a strong core for Australia. Together they played more than 100 games each showing how much they contributed to the game by sacrificing a lot. So this moment makes it all the more pleasing for me."
For Edwards the best moment in One-Day International cricket is when she led her team to the title triumph in ICC Women's World Cup 2009. She became a champion at her fourth attempt and that makes her all the more proud.
"In international cricket it is the ICC Women's World Cup that you aim to win. To win it as the captain in my fourth attempt makes it one of the highlights of my career."
At 30, Edwards believes that she has a lot of time on hand to achieve a lot more in cricket. " The ICC World T20 in 2012 (in Sri Lanka) is obviously one of the main targets for now. I will play as long as I am enjoying the game and that moment will take a long time coming."
Edwards has already started preparing for her targets: ICC World T20 in 2012 and later the ICC Women's World Cup in 2013 in India, with her ongoing tour to Sri Lanka. She believes the tour will add to the team's experience in the build-up to the two mega events.
"It is obviously helping us in getting used to the conditions in the sub-continent and will help us prepare for those tournaments. We will gain valuable experience as a team. That is one of the goals of the tours. We have a few new players in the squad who will benefit a lot from the tour."
