\n<\/p>\n
England head coach Charlotte Edwards says her players have categorically addressed the issues surrounding their fitness.<\/b><\/p>\n
The physical condition of England’s players was a hot topic of debate before Edwards’ appointment.<\/p>\n
England’s early exit from the Women’s T20 World Cup just under 18 months ago prompted former spinner Alex Hartley to say some players were “letting the team down”<\/a> in terms of fitness.<\/p>\n Athleticism again came into focus during the Ashes in January 2025, and former coach Jon Lewis attributed it to a cultural difference between the UK and Australia. <\/p>\n Edwards introduced minimum fitness standards<\/a> for England players when she replaced Lewis in charge last year.<\/p>\n When asked on a BBC Test Match Special debate show if the fitness issue had been put to bed, Edwards responded that it “100%” had.<\/p>\n “We’re in a really good place. The results are all so high. I couldn’t be more chuffed – we’ve made real progress,” Edwards said.<\/p>\n “It’s not just all about whether you can run round a track. It’s all the other elements to it that we’ve tried to make just as important.”<\/p>\n Edwards will celebrate a year in charge of England, who host the T20 World Cup this summer, on Wednesday.<\/p>\n The 46-year-old said the introduction of specific benchmarks relating to fitness have had the desired impact.<\/p>\n “I think once you set out the expectation, the players know what they need to do. And we’ve added in sort of benchmarks over the winter,” Edwards added. <\/p>\n “We’ve got to keep raising the standard. The players have fully bought into that, which, that was, I guess what I set out to do and am really pleased with the buy-in.<\/p>\n “I don’t know if anyone watched the fielding from the recent [intra-squad] series, but it’s some of the best fielding I’ve seen, certainly from our group, the improvements we’ve made.”<\/p>\n Watch the full debate about England’s women’s team on <\/i>BBC iPlayer<\/i><\/a> or listen to it as a podcast on <\/i>BBC Sounds.<\/i><\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n