Charlotte Edwards has just returned from Sydney where she captained England’s women to their first World Cup victory since 1993. She has captained England full-time since 2006, and was ICC Women’s Cricketer of the Year in 2008. She was speaking to Sam Collins

Has the standard of women’s cricket changed since England last won the World Cup in 1993?

Yes, it’s higher now. In any sport times move on and the game has changed a lot in that time, for example we are now wearing trousers. The game has progressed, especially the fielding and the athleticism.

How can English women’s cricket sustain this momentum?

Hopefully by keeping the same girls in the team. I think it has been a big strength of this team that we have kept the nucleus of the side the same. We have just got to get the other girls closer to us and keep them challenging for places; it’s good that we have a lot of people challenging for places.

What is the future for women’s cricket, more Tests, or a focus on ODIs and Twenty20?

I think ODIs and T20s definitely. Just because of the time factor – getting time off work and so on. Domestically we don’t play any cricket the length of Tests so it’s quite hard to then go and play it internationally.

Is there more glamour attached to the women’s game now than five years ago?

I think there is. I’ve had a few questions this morning about the girls being good looking and so on. We’re doing everything we can to promote women’s cricket and if we have to go and do some shoots with Paul Costelloe in our suits then that’s what we have to do. That’s part of our job, to hopefully get the game out to a wider audience. As long as we’re doing our talking on the pitch that’s what matters to me.

Does your success prove the effectiveness of the split-squad programme that saw some players go out to play in Australia and New Zealand before the World Cup?

It’s definitely helped us. Six of the girls were out there playing and obviously they were in season so it meant only six or seven of us had to get ourselves back into form. It was a real benefit to the squad – they were used to the conditions and had played at a lot of the grounds we had played at.

Would you like to see some of the other countries become more competitive?

It’s all about women’s cricket becoming stronger. I think the standard is getting better among the weaker countries, but we are also getting better, so it is difficult to measure their progression. Anything we can do to help those teams get closer to us then great, because ultimately we want as many good teams playing women’s cricket as possible.

After the final one of the ex-Australian players said to me that England winning will be the best thing that has happened to the game because it will kick the other countries into action with a sense that what the ECB has done for us will be replicated in other countries.

How difficult was it to give up your job working at Hunts bat manufacturer to take up the Chance to shine contract?

It was really difficult. I had been working with them for eight years and to finally have to give up my role there was hard, as a lot of people there had really supported me throughout my cricket career. The Chance to shine contract did give me the opportunity to put something back into the game through coaching. It has been the best thing I have ever done. The chance to be a role model for the kids has been fantastic, and I can’t wait to get back down to the day job.

Do you sense a groundswell of interest within schools?

Having been in the schools and seeing all the schools that have emailed me while I have been away and been watching me on the TV, it’s great that they can get so close to an England player and that I can be their role model. I’m looking forward to showing this trophy to them and hopefully generating a lot more interest to get these girls into clubs so that hopefully one day they can have the success I’ve experienced over the last few days.

With crowds becoming more familiar with the names of the England team will it help women’s cricket be seen as a legitimate spectator sport going into the Twenty20 World Cup?

Hopefully we’ve created a lot of interest through the winter, through the tournament, that will get people down to watch us in this T20. I think this summer will be a bit like 2005, it could really help raise the profile again. To be part of that all again would be great. It’s going to be a fantastic tournament, the first we’ve run alongside the guy’s one. Hopefully we’ll be here at Lord’s for the final on June 21 and England’s men will be too.

Sam Collins is website editor of thewisdencricketer.com