Charlotte Edwards Confident in England's Cricket World Cup Prep

London, Aug 15 (PTI) - Former England women's cricket team captain, Charlotte Edwards, is confident that her team is gearing up effectively for the upcoming ODI World Cup, despite recent setbacks against India during the home multi-format series.

As one of England's most successful captains, Edwards led her team to a double triumph in ICC events in 2009, clinching the 50-over and T20 World Cups. Now as the national team coach, Edwards emphasizes that her squad is capable of overcoming any opposition globally.

"We were massively challenged (against India) and that's how we want women's cricket to be," Edwards mentioned on the BBC Stumped podcast. Under Harmanpreet Kaur's leadership, India Women made history in the recently concluded series by defeating England in both the T20I and ODI formats for the first time on English soil.

This significant achievement by India has sparked hopes that Harmanpreet's squad might finally secure a World Cup trophy during the forthcoming tournament, set to be co-hosted by India and Sri Lanka in September-October this year.

"It wasn't a reality check. We know we can beat India. We are going into a World Cup where we know if we play our best, we can beat any team," Edwards asserted. Having been in her coaching role for just six months, Edwards acknowledges the hard work needed to shed England's reputation as a lackluster fielding side.

"It is something we are working on, we know we have that tag now. Sometimes I get frustrated because we can drop one catch and we are labeled a bad fielding team, even though we have fielded really well otherwise," Edwards shared. She began her tenure with a clean sweep against the West Indies, securing victories in all white-ball matches. However, India's robust performance brought England back to reality, partly due to lackluster fielding.

"I am confident we can get to a place where people are talking really positively about our fielding," Edwards expressed optimism. Additionally, she highlighted that her captain, Nat Sciver-Brunt, and spinner, Sophie Ecclestone, are in excellent form ahead of the World Cup. Both players currently hold the top position on the ICC Women's ODI Player Rankings.