Sydney Sixers appoint Charlotte Edwards as Head Coach for WBBL08

Women's CricZone Staff

17 May 2022 00:00 IST

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Postponement of The Hundred is going to "prove to be a problem", says Charlotte Edwards — Charlotte Edwards © Getty Images

Sydney Sixers have appointed former England skipper Charlotte Edwards as their new head coach for the upcoming season (WBBL|08). Edwards has replaced Ben Sawyer. Sawyer was with the Sixers from the very beginning and had led Sixers in all the seven editions of the Women's Big Bash League.

Under Sawyer's coaching regime, Sixers won the tournament twice. In 2016, they defeated Perth Scorchers by seven runs to win their maiden title and in 2017, they again came up trumps against Scorchers (by nine wickets) to lift their second WBBL title.

During Sawyer's tenure, the team also finished as runners-up twice, firstly in the inaugural edition in 2015 as they lost to Sydney Thunder and secondly in 2018 when they failed to beat Brisbane Heat in the summit clash.

Edwards expressed happiness about her appointment and the desire to get things back on track for Sixers, who haven't featured in a final since 2018.

“I’m extremely excited to be offered the role with the Sixers who are one of the most successful women’s domestic teams in the world,” Edwards said.

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“To be associated with a team like the Sixers is really exciting for me and I really can’t wait to get started. The vision for the Sixers is to bring back trophies for the club,” she mentioned.

“More importantly is the way we do that, and I think the way we do that is to play a really exciting and entertaining style of cricket that hopefully the fans are proud of and want to come and watch. That means a lot to me and the group,” she added.

Leah Poulton, Cricket NSW Head of Female Cricket acknowledged the contributions of Sawyer as head coach and also welcomed Edwards's appointment.

“Ben (Sawyer) has been a wonderful leader over many years at the Sixers and he’s done a fantastic job developing a generation of players,” Poulton said.

“We are proud not just of Ben’s achievements but also of the way in which he worked so hard to build a culture within the team and a connection with our members and fans. Charlotte brings with her extensive leadership experience and a reputation for bringing out the best in those around her,” she added.

“She has already demonstrated a clear vision for the team, it’s an exciting brand of cricket which I’m sure will appeal to our fans,” she said.

WBBL Sydney Sixers Charlotte Edwards Ben Sawyer WBBL08 Women's Big Bash League 08, 2022