Katherine Sciver-Brunt, a seasoned England bowler, has announced her retirement from international cricket.

On Friday, May 5, experienced England bowler Katherine Sciver-Brunt will retire from international cricket. The right-arm fast bowler made her England debut in 2004 and went on to play for the women’s national team in 267 international games, taking 335 wickets in all formats of the game. In both T20I and ODI cricket, she topped the wicket-taking rankings for England women and has won three World Cups and four Ashes series.

Katherine Sciver-Brunt announced that, after 19 years of service to the England team, she has made the decision to end her outstanding international career. She added that she never thought she’d be able to make a decision this difficult, but she did. She continued by saying that she is happy she was able to fulfill her one and only goal, which was to make her family proud.

“Well, I’m at the end of my foreign voyage now, 19 years later. I had given up hope that I would ever be able to make this choice, but I have, and it has been the hardest of my life. I never had any hopes or plans to accomplish what I have; all I ever wanted was to please my family. And my accomplishments much exceed that,” Sciver-Brunt stated.

Katherine Sciver-Brunt will keep competing for the Trent Rockets in The Hundred.

The England women’s team overcame Australia to win the Women’s Ashes for the first time in 42 years, and Katherine Sciver-Brunt was a member of that team. It’s interesting to note that the 37-year-old made the decision to retire before the highly anticipated Ashes series, in which England is gearing up to reclaim the ‘Urn’ from Australia this summer. She will, however, continue to work with the Trent Rockets in The Hundred for one more season.

Notably, only one bowler has taken more wickets in women’s international cricket than Katherine Sciver-Brunt (355), the former Indian bowling mainstay Jhulan Goswami. The English bowler, who amassed over 1,800 runs in international competition, was also a superb batsman.

It is important to note that Katherine played during a time when women’s cricket was less well-liked than it is now, and she encouraged a generation of both young girls and boys to take up the sport. As a result, she not only encouraged others to play the game but also attracted new audiences to the game through her performances. She eventually increased the bar for contemporary cricket.