After guiding England’s women to a T20 series success against New Zealand in her 200th appearance as captain, Kent’s Charlotte Edwards has been described as ‘pivotal’ to the growth of the women’s game by former England skipper Michael Vaughan.

After a nine-wicket defeat in the opening T20 game and levelling the series with a 90-run victory, the 35-year-old guided England to a five-wicket win in Lincoln on Tuesday, her 129th in 200 games in charge, to seal the series triumph at 2-1.

After restricting the hosts to 97-9, with Kent’s Laura Marsh taking 2-24, her clubmate Lydia Greenway cracked 25 to help England reach their target with eight balls to spare.

Edwards has been playing for England for 19 years and took over as captain in 2005, presiding over three Ashes series wins and claiming the World Cup and World T20 titles.

Ashes-winning men’s skipper Michael Vaughan said: “What they’ve done for women’s cricket and women’s sport over the last 10 years is quite remarkable.

“The Ashes series that they’ve won, the world cup’s, T20, 50 overs - they kind of go unnoticed. But Charlotte Edwards has been the pivotal figure behind that success.”

England’s women will resume their one-day series against the White Ferns on Thursday, trailing 2-1 with two to play.