Charlotte Edwards was in terrific form with the bat

Charlotte Edwards smashed an unbeaten century as England Women began their tour with a demolition against New Zealand emerging players on Saturday.

The Kent and England skipper found form ahead of the T20 and One Day International series by hitting 123 from just 104 balls to set up the emphatic 181-run victory at Lincoln University, near Christchurch.

Edwards hit 17 boundaries before eventually retiring not out and England reached 292 for 9 from their 50 overs.

England went on to bowl out the hosts for 111 in the 39th over, with Edwards’ county team-mate Lydia Greenway taking a catch, as their tour off to an excellent start.

Edwards said: “We had a good day out there with some great individual performances. Everyone enjoyed being back outside and I was really pleased with how the team performed.

“I was delighted to get out there today and get some runs under my belt and we are all looking forward to moving into the twenty 20 format on Monday.”

England play the emerging players over the shorter format on Monday and Tuesday ahead of the first game against New Zealand, which is in Wellington on Friday.

Photo by ADY KERRY