| Player: | CM Edwards, GA Hick |
DateLine: 13th June 2009
Charlotte Edwards, the England women's captain, who led England to World Cup win and Graeme Hick, the former England batsman and the most prolific scorer in all cricket, have been awarded MBE in the Queen's Birthday Honours this year.
Edwards, who is currently captaining England in the Women's World Twenty20, said she was very proud to receive the honour and felt it was a great way to raise the profile of the women's game. Edwards, who made her international debut in 1996 as a 16-year old, took over captaincy from Clare Connor in 2005 and led the side to an Ashes win in Australia last year before topping it up with England's first world title in 16 years. She was named ICC Women's Cricketer of the Year in 2008.
Hick, who announced his retirement from the game at the end of the 2008 season at 42, averaged 31.32 from 65 Tests and 52.23 from 526 first-class matches in a career that spanned 25 years. Hick had underachieved considerably in international circuit when compared to his county feats. His tally of 136 first-class hundreds places him eighth in the all-time list. Hick said while he had performed inconsistently in international cricket, he didn't consider his Test career "an absolute nightmare".
