England women's captain Charlotte Edwards has announced that she has retired from international cricket with immediate effect.

Having made her debut at 16 years of age, Edwards ends a 20-year career on the international stage, with the last decade spent as skipper of the Three Lions whom she led to the World Cup, World T20 and five Ashes series triumphs.

The 36-year-old is quoted by BBC Sport as saying: "I leave very proud of the standing in which the women's game is held and of my contribution as a player and captain. It's the right time for a new captain to lead the team forward."

Edwards made a total of 309 appearances for England split over 23 Test matches, 191 one-day internationals and 95 T20 contests.

The batsman concludes life on the global scene having made more international appearances than anyone else in the women's game.