The England women's cricket team was honoured at the Sports Journalists' Association Awards on Wednesday, winning the prestigious Team of the Year award. The award recognises a superb year that has seen the team crowned double world champions, at the ICC World Cup and the ICC World Twenty20, retain the Ashes and defeat Australia 4-0 in the NatWest One Day International Series.
The award was made on behalf of more than 700 members of the Sports Journalists' Association and was presented at the annual British Sports Awards lunch at The Brewery in London. The England women's team beat their male counterparts to win the award for only the second time in the awards' 61 year history, the first occasion was in 1993.
Claire Taylor's contributions to women's cricket throughout 2009 were also recognised. Taylor, who was voted Player of the Tournament at both the ICC World Cup and ICC World Twenty20, finished third in the Sportswoman of the Year category.
Clare Connor, ECB's head of women's cricket, said: "It is a massive honour for the team to win this award and to receive recognition from the sports journalists after a phenomenal year for women's cricket. With a tour to India followed by the ICC World Twenty20 in the West Indies and a home series against New Zealand, the next seven months will present exciting challenges for the team to sustain this year's level of success. Not only have the players achieved impressive results on the pitch this year but their success has encouraged huge numbers of girls to participate in our sport which is crucial for our long term development."
The SJA Team of the Year award rounded off a memorable week in which England women's head coach Mark Lane was presented with the Coach of the Year award and High Performance Coach of the Year award at the UK Coaching Awards.
There will be plenty of opportunities to watch the England women's side next summer when they take on New Zealand women in a NatWest Twenty20 Series followed by a NatWest One Day International Series throughout June and July 2010. Beginning on Tuesday 29 June with a Twenty20 match in Chelmsford, the sides then travel to The Rose Bowl and Hove before starting the five match ODI series in Taunton on Saturday 10 July. The final match is on Tuesday 20 July at Lord's. A full list of fixtures for 2010 is available from www.ecb.co.uk/fixtures2010
It will be a busy year for the team, beginning in February when Charlotte Edwards and her side will travel to the subcontinent to play five ODIs and three Twenty20 matches against India. In April, England women will head to the West Indies to prepare for the defence of their World Twenty20 title.
