Head coach Charlotte Edwards says England have won back fans despite a tough loss to Australia in the Women’s T20 World Cup final.

Edwards, herself a World Cup-winning captain, was appointed to the role after England’s disastrous Ashes campaign in 2025, where they were thrashed 16-0 in the multi-format points series.

During that series, England were particularly criticized for their fitness and fielding and the team’s attitude and perception was also questioned.

Edwards has spoken honestly about her desire to change that narrative and, following the defeat at Lord’s, said she was proud of how things had changed.

“I couldn’t be more proud of my group or where we are,” Edwards told the BBC Test Match Special.

“People are talking positively about this team now, whereas they weren’t when I took over, and that’s down to the work and effort the players have put in behind the scenes.

“And we’ve got the fans back, because they’ve come to see us today, which is extraordinary, and I can’t thank the fans and our families enough.

“We’re not talking about fitness or fielding, I wanted us to talk about cricket. So even though we’ve missed today, I don’t think we should be discouraged by that. This is a very, very good Australian team that has dominated world cricket for years and we’re not far away.”

A crowd of 28,887 turned out to watch the final, and both teams went into the match undefeated.

England put Australia on 151 to win, but they made light work of the chase, reaching the target in 17.1 overs as Beth Mooney led with 64 off 49 balls, and Edwards admitted that despite improvements, his team was outclassed on the day.

“Gutted, really,” Edwards said, when asked about her immediate emotions.

“We came here with a lot of faith and confidence to achieve something really special and I think we gave ourselves a big shout, it didn’t seem easy to move forward.

“But they are a very, very good team and in the end we were completely outclassed.”