Edwards was awarded the MBE for her contributions towards the game of cricket after she lead England to a victory in the 50-over World Cup held in Australia.
She followed that up with a superb performance in the just concluded Women’s World T20 in England where she led the host nation to another victory beating New Zealand. Though she was dismissed at 9 from 10 in the final, her performance was prominent in leading England up to the final stage.
The ICC Women’s cricketer of the year for 2008 said, on receiving the award, that she was very proud to receive the honor and felt it was a great way to raise the profile of the women’s game, adding, “It’s been a really special eighteen months for myself and the team and this has really topped it off.”
Edwards debuted internationally in 1996 at the young age of16 and gradually worked her way up to captaincy in 2005, totaling as many as 1317 Test runs, 3657 ODI runs and 505 Twenty20 runs. She has impressed with the ball as well, taking as many as 55 wickets in all formats. Her highest score to date is 173* and averages around 40.0 overall.
Edwards has also won the Ashes with England in Australia in 2008.