CHARLOTTE EDWARDS insists she could not be happier with her players ahead of their Women’s World Cup opener as England look to put the past behind them.

The pressure is on for England to show they have not been left behind in the women’s game after an Ashes whitewash at the hands of Australia and their failure to make it through to the group stages at last year’s T20 World Cup.

Edwards, who captained England for a decade, replaced Jon Lewis as head coach in April and is delighted with the progress she has seen.

“I’ve not spoken about anything about the past, it’s all about looking forward,” she said ahead of Friday’s clash with South Africa in Guwahati.

“I think, with this group now, we’ve created an environment where it’s about taking accountability and we’ve got real clarity on how we want to play the game.

“Hopefully that clarity’s going to help this team under pressure because I don’t think we’ll leave a stone unturned in terms of our prep.

“The signs have been really strong so far in terms of the development I’ve seen in the last six months. And I’m just hoping we can take that now on to the big stage.”

Under Edwards, England experienced a mixed summer, dominating against the West Indies but losing T20 and one-day series against India.

Their confidence heading into the World Cup has been boosted by warm-up victories over hosts India and Australia, and Edwards said: “We’re not getting carried away, don’t worry, but we know that we’re on the right track and we’re tracking really well moving into the first game.

“I think there’s never a friendly against international opposition, so we’ve taken a lot of confidence, not necessarily around the result, but the way we’ve played.

“I feel we’re really nicely placed. You’ll be pleased to hear we’ve been fielding really well, so that’s something that we obviously wanted to work on.

“Under pressure, the players have responded really well. We’re in a good place physically and we’ve made some real shifts, which is really pleasing. I couldn’t be happier.”

Edwards’ successor as captain, Heather Knight, paid the price for England’s poor run along with Lewis but she remains a key asset both as a batter and for her vast experience.

The 34-year-old missed the summer season with a hamstring injury but has recovered in time to take her place in the squad, and Edwards added: “She’s vital to our success out here. I expect big things for her. She’s looking in great touch and ready to go.

“The last two weeks have been massive for Heather in terms of her first introduction back to playing and she really did just come back as normal.

“It’s so great to have her back in that number three spot for us, a position that obviously we missed her in throughout the summer. The experience she brings to our group on and off the field is so valuable.”

Knight’s successor as captain, Nat Sciver-Brunt, has also been limited by injury, with an Achilles problem restricting her bowling.

Edwards, though, is expecting her to be able to fulfil her complement of overs on Friday, saying: “Nat’s ready to go. She’s bowling.

“She hasn’t bowled in every warm-up game but she’s doing lots of training overs as well. She’s in a really good place physically. So we’re hoping for 10 overs out of Nat.”