Where are they now: Mickey Edwards

You could forgive Mickey Edwards for not knowing whether to laugh or cry when he looks back at his short time with Yorkshire in 2023 and 2024. But the affable Australian quickly dispels any doubt when he says: “I absolutely loved it at Yorkshire. I met some incredible people.”

Edwards, a tall fast bowler who came over as a domestic qualified player courtesy of a British passport, had his game time in a White Rose shirt limited to just eight matches across two seasons under former head coach Ottis Gibson.

In the end, a left ankle problem forced him to retire from professional cricket and return home to Sydney, where he is still dealing with that injury. 

“It’s actually something I’m going to have to deal with for the rest of my life,” he tells yorkshireccc.com for the latest instalment of our winter Where are they now series.

“It’s a permanent thing, unfortunately.”

Edwards hasn’t played at all since his last pro appearance, for Yorkshire in an early-season 2024 Rothesay County Championship match against Middlesex at Lord’s when he left the field midway through it due to his ankle issue flaring up.

“It’s my navicular, which is a bone in front of your major ankle joint, I guess,” he continued. “I was hoping it would get better and I could play some club cricket again, but it never has.”

You will have guessed by now that Edwards is a glass half full man, and – ankle issues aside – things have worked out very nicely for the 31-year-old since leaving Headingley and the Broad Acres.

“I’m still involved in the game,” he said. “I’m coaching the first grade team at Manly Warringah, and we’re top of the table heading into the closing stages of the New South Wales Premier Cricket comp.

“Manly’s been a huge part of my life, and I still wanted to be around it somehow.

“I was thinking that maybe I could do some bowling coaching and be around my mates on a Tuesday and Thursday night and a Saturday. But they asked me if I wanted to do the first grade coaching. It’s been really good.”

Away from cricket, Edwards continued: “In November, I got engaged to my lovely girlfriend, Katey. That was amazing. 

“Work wise, I’m working as an Associate Adviser for a company called TMS Private Wealth in Manly. 

“I’ve always had an interest in that side of things and wanted to do financial analysis or go into sales, financial advice or business development manager type stuff.

“After I played my last game for Yorkshire, I stayed around until just after the end of the summer and worked in the finance team at Headingley to gain some experience. I really enjoyed that, and it stoked a bit of a fire for me.

“But when I got back home, I found it hard. 

“I started working as a labourer with one of my good mates. That was basically jack-hammering all hours of the day.

“Then, we went travelling – myself and Katey – for a few months the following March, April and May. We went to Japan, we skied, went around Tokyo and had a month in Vietnam. It was great. 

“When I got back, it was then nose to the grindstone with trying to find a job.

“It was almost a full-time job trying to find a job – getting on the ferry into the city and networking – and some came up that I didn’t really want. 

“I’d made a promise to myself at the start that I wasn’t just going to take any job which came up. It ended up being a pretty grim time. It was really hard.

“Then, after three or four months, I kind of gave up. I was sick of people who would promise you the potential of a job and then nothing would come up.

“But then, after I’d almost stopped looking, the guy who I’d been doing the labouring with, his girlfriend had a friend who worked at  this company, TMS Private Wealth.

“I ended up having three interviews and got the job, which I was thrilled about. 

“And it’s great. I’m an Associate Adviser, and the plan is for me to do a year of additional study, a professional year – basically following people around and into meetings – learning the ropes. Then, I’ll do an exam and get my license from there. 

“In the end, I’ve fallen on my feet. 

“But I can’t sugarcoat it, that period of searching for jobs was awful. 

“I’m someone who I feel has prepared pretty well for life after cricket and the transition because it’s going to come to you at some point. But it was still a tough little period.”

Now, out of that tough trot, Edwards – a former NSW and Sydney Sixers player prior to playing for Yorkshire – has seemingly got the best of both worlds. A fulfilling job added to the opportunity to remain in the game which has been such a massive part of his life.

“Yeah, I’m very happy with how it’s ended up,” he said.

“The Manly thing, I think the ethos we’re trying to go into with is an ethos of enjoyment.

“When I look back at my career, I wish I’d have just enjoyed it a bit more rather than looking at the next thing, the next match or selection or the next bag of wickets.

“I feel like I went 10 years without really stopping, and I think you must play your best cricket when you’re having the most fun. So that’s what we’re trying to instil.

“At the end of the season, we’re not looking at the wins and losses, we’re just looking at basically how many memorable moments have you had. 

“It’s a tally of memorable moments, and that kind of decides a winning or a losing season for us.

“And it seems to be working because we’re first at the minute.

“It’s an interesting thing isn’t it. I don’t know if it’s a chicken or egg thing. We are coming first, which helps to have fun. Or maybe we’ve been winning games because we’re having fun. 

“I had a 10-year career with some good and bad coaches in there, so I kind of know what I’m looking for. 

“It’s a bit of a thankless task, and I think there’s a bit of an expiry date on it as a coach. I’m not sure whether a career in professional coaching is for me because I’m not a very good watcher when I don’t have any control over what’s going on out in the field. But I have enjoyed this role.”

Mickey’s younger brother Jack also plays for Manly when his pro commitments allow, and last month the all-rounder made his international debut for Australia out in Pakistan in a T20 fixture.

“It’s great to see one of the Edwards boys going on with it,” chuckled Mickey. “He’s had a great breakout year, playing for Australia and picked up in the IPL.

“It’s nice to see him getting rewarded for consistent performances and hard work.”

And as for Mickey’s time at Yorkshire, he added: “It’s interesting when people ask me this question, ‘How was your time with Yorkshire?’

“I kind of say, ‘Everything that could go wrong did do’.

“I had a career-ending injury, I didn’t really get past April each season before I was put in a moon boot on either my left or right foot.

“I had car problems. I got sold a car which was written-off. That was a nightmare. 

“It rained for pretty much all of the two years I was there, and we had some problems with the house we were in as well.

“But, despite all that, it was still the best two years of my life. 

“Just to get out of Sydney for a couple of years and experience something new, make some new friends and experience a different way of life, was really great.

“Yorkshire were probably going through a tricky period with the cricket. 

“But to see young guys like George Hill and Will Luxton, Ben Cliff, James Wharton and Matthew Revis play some incredible cricket, I look back on that with a lot of happiness.

“I do a diary every day in my phone because I’ve got a bad memory and I forget things. I’ve been doing that for probably six years, and quite often I just look back at odd days from my time at Yorkshire.

“We actually had Matt Milnes come and stay with us earlier this winter, Dan Moriarty and his wife as well. Kayleigh from the sponsorship and partnership team was over too.

“So, yeah, very fond memories. I had a lot of fun.”