Women’s World Cup 2025: Have England improved under Charlotte Edwards?

Edwards said before the tournament the semi-finals were her minimum expectation, so by that metric it is a tick in her box.

But, ultimately, finishing second in the group-stage table flattered England.

They lurched from the brilliant to the baffling. The aforementioned demolition of South Africa was followed by the stuttering win over Bangladesh, largely with thanks to the help of DRS.

The rain saved their blushes against Pakistan, the worst team in the tournament, before they impressively edged a closely-fought tie against hosts India.

The bubble was popped soon after though, when Australia waltzed to another crushing win.

Throughout, the same trend has unfolded – their bowling, particularly the spinners, has been excellent but their batting has been horribly exposed.

They were 78-5 and 78-7 against Bangladesh and Pakistan respectively, the tournament’s bottom two teams, with the edgy win and the washout papering over concerning cracks.

The dependency on Heather Knight and Sciver-Brunt remains, with added concerns around the batting depth coming through the ranks to challenge them.

It is most likely this will be the last 50-over World Cup for Knight, Sciver-Brunt, Amy Jones and Tammy Beaumont. Who are the names knocking down the door to replace them?

Having been on the receiving end of Wolvaardt’s onslaught, it was understandable for the batters’ minds to be a little frazzled.

There was some sympathy for Jones, having kept wicket in the heat for 50 overs and now tasked with chasing a record 320 – only to get a beautiful nip-backer from the warrior-like Marizanne Kapp second ball.

But England, don’t forget, chose to bowl first.

Knight and Beaumont flirted outside the off stump, Sciver-Brunt gave some hope with a fluent 64 but the game went with her, and therein lies the gulf between England and the best.

Had Australia been in that position, they would still be favourites to win.

However, it is also a fair argument that South Africa are similarly dependent on their big players.

The difference is theirs stood up when the team needed them.