Edwards was born in
Nelson, and attended
Nelson College. He was a short, stocky wicketkeeper who was a good enough batsman to make his Test debut against
Australia in 1976–77 as a specialist. He was brought back in 1977–78 as a wicketkeeper-batsman and made 55 and 54 on his comeback against England at Auckland. That won him selection for the England tour in 1978 where his performances were disappointing – one member of the BBC commentary team said that Edwards was "the worst wicketkeeper I've ever seen ... he's made mistakes you'd have the 3rd XI 'keeper at school running round the pitch for". But the genial Edwards kept his spirits up and was a popular tourist. He returned for three home Tests against India in 1980–81 where he chipped in with useful runs, but the emergence of
Ian Smith signalled the end of his international career. Edwards played
first-class and
List A cricket for
Central Districts from 1973–74 to 1984–85. His highest first-class score was 177
not out against
Wellington in 1980–81, which was also his most successful season, with 812 runs at an average of 47.76. He was also a prominent player in the
Hawke Cup for
Nelson for many years, scoring 236 against North Canterbury in his last match, including six sixes and 29 fours. After retiring from cricket he ran a pub in
Murchison, then worked as a gate-keeper at
Port Nelson. He had several minor heart attacks before undergoing surgery for a
triple bypass in 2007. He died on 6 April 2020. ==References==