| Charlotte Edwards Cup | |
| Country: | |
| Administrator: | ECB |
| Cricket Format: | Twenty20 |
| First: | 2021 |
| Last: | 2024 |
| Tournament Format: | Group stage and knockout |
| Participants: | 8 |
| Champions: | The Blaze (1st title) |
| Most Successful: | Southern Vipers (2 titles) |
The Charlotte Edwards Cup, initially named the Women's Regional T20, is an English women's cricket Twenty20 domestic competition organised by the England and Wales Cricket Board. The first edition of the tournament took place in 2021. The tournament is named after England's former captain and most capped player, Charlotte Edwards.[1]
The tournament features eight teams, representing regional hubs across England and Wales. The tournament is a successor to the Women's Cricket Super League, which ended in 2019. Whilst a regional T20 tournament was planned for 2020, it was cancelled in favour of the 50-over Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy in the shortened 2020 season due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The tournament now runs alongside the Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy and The Hundred.[2] [3]
With the ending of the Women's Cricket Super League in 2019, the England and Wales Cricket Board intended to launch a new regional structure for domestic women's cricket in England and Wales, including a 50-over competition, a Twenty20 competition and The Hundred.[2] However, as the COVID-19 pandemic shortened the 2020 season, only the 50-over Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy was able to go ahead that season, with six new teams competing, plus Western Storm and Southern Vipers carried over from the WCSL, representing regional hubs.[4]
In 2021, with a return to a full schedule, it was announced in February that the new Twenty20 competition would be called the Women's Regional T20, to run alongside the Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy and to be competed for by the same teams. Two days before the tournament began, it was renamed the Charlotte Edwards Cup, with the first edition of the tournament getting underway on 26 June, eventually being won by South East Stars.[1] [5] The second edition of the tournament was won by Southern Vipers, who beat Central Sparks in the final.[6] Vipers retained their title in 2023, beating The Blaze in the final by 7 wickets.[7] The Blaze won the title the following year, defeating South East Stars in the final after topping the group stage.[8]
The teams for the Charlotte Edwards Cup are as follows:
| Team | County partners | Home grounds (2023) | Captain | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Central Sparks | Evelyn Jones | ||||
| Northern Diamonds | Hollie Armitage | ||||
| North West Thunder |
| Eleanor Threlkeld | |||
| South East Stars | Bryony Smith | ||||
| Southern Vipers |
| Georgia Adams | |||
| Grace Scrivens | |||||
| The Blaze | Kirstie Gordon | ||||
| Western Storm | Sophie Luff | ||||
In 2021 and 2022, teams played each other home and away in their group. The two group winners and the best second-place team advanced to Finals Day. The best group winner advanced straight to the final, whilst the other two teams played off in a semi-final.[9] In 2023, teams played in one group of eight, playing each other team in the group once, with the top team in the group advancing directly to the final, whilst the second and third-placed teams play off in the semi-final.[10] The tournament expanded again ahead of the 2024 season, with teams playing ten group stage matches and four teams qualifying for Finals Day, with two semi-finals and a final.[11]
Teams receive 4 points for a win. A bonus point is given where the winning team's run rate is 1.25 or greater times that of the opposition. In case of a tie in the standings, the following tiebreakers are applied in order: highest net run rate, team that scored the most points in matches involving the tied parties, better bowling strike rate, drawing of lots.[12]
| Season | Winner | Runners-up | Final Venue | Player (club) | Runs | Player (club) | Wickets | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Leading run-scorer | Leading wicket-taker | ||||||||
| 2021 | South East Stars | Northern Diamonds | Rose Bowl, Southampton | Evelyn Jones (Central Sparks) | 276 | Bryony Smith (South East Stars) | 14 | [13] [14] | |
| 2022 | Southern Vipers | Central Sparks | County Ground, Northampton | Amy Jones (Central Sparks) | 289 | Katie Levick (Northern Diamonds) | 15 | [15] [16] | |
| 2023 | Southern Vipers | The Blaze | New Road, Worcester | Danni Wyatt (Southern Vipers) | 273 | Nadine de Klerk (The Blaze) | 15 | [17] [18] | |
| 2024 | The Blaze | South East Stars | County Ground, Derby | Kathryn Bryce (The Blaze) | 478 | Kirstie Gordon (The Blaze) | 22 | [19] [20] | |