Parks hopes Edwards can join coaching staff
CHARLOTTE Edwards is the very definition of a legend, so it’s no surprise that Bob Parks is keen to keep her at Hampshire for the long-term.
And head of women’s performance Parks admits he is angling for the former England captain to move into the county’s coaching set-up.
Edwards, 37, led the Ageas Bowl-based Southern Vipers to the Kia Super League title in its inaugural year before signing for the Hampshire in December.
She skippered England for more than a decade before retiring from international cricket earlier this year, having won four Ashes series in addition to World Cup and World T20 tournaments.
She ended a 16-year association with Kent to move to Southampton and is open to the possibility of coaching at the end of her playing days, according to Parks.
“Someone like Charlotte at the end of her career is looking to get into coaching and sees this as an opportunity to build a relationship with a professional county,” he said.
“Coaching is something we’ve talked about. She’s keen to do that if we can find a challenging role for her, she will be here for a while – that’s the intention.
“She’s still playing at the moment and it’s great to see her as Southern Vipers captain and she wants to play cricket for the next few years.
“This can be a transition for her out of the game and into a coaching environment.”
Hampshire also recently announced that New Zealand captain and Vipers star Suzie Bates would be joining the county ahead of the Women’s World Cup later this summer.
And with two extremely experienced internationals now on their books, Parks is expecting a major impact on the younger members of the Hampshire squad.
“We have a very young squad, it’s probably quite awe-inspiring to have two very good players, international captains, coming to play for us,” he added.
“It’s a great opportunity for the youngsters to learn a lot.
“Suzie absolute loves playing here at the Ageas Bowl, it’s a world-class venue and it’s a great place for players to base themselves.
“She sees this as an opportunity to settle down rather than fly in for the World Cup and out again.
“It’s a massive thing for us, we took on rebuilding the side three or four years ago and have put a lot of time and effort in.
“We came up three years ago from Division Four and we set a five-year plan to reach Division One and if we do it by this year, we are two years ahead of schedule.
“There’s some serious investment here to encourage us to do well and support the players. Three or four years ago they didn’t have that support.”
The Kia Super League was introduced in 2016 with six franchises and the 2017 competition will begin with a rerun of last year’s final between Southern Vipers and Western Storm on August 10.
Parks was full of praise for the introduction of the competition into the women’s game and is confident it will bridge the gap between counties and international cricket.
“The competition is outstanding, we were delighted with the way we played and really pleased to have won the trophy, which we did on the back of being very well-prepared,” Parks added.
“It’s seen as a stepping stone between county cricket and England, those girls now using Southern Vipers players as role models for themselves rather than seeing England as a million miles away.
“They see Suzie Bates and Super League sides as much closer to home; we find kids coming to see us and aspire to be those players.”