Veteran England bowler Katherine Sciver-Brunt announces retirement from International cricket

The veteran England pacer Katherine Sciver-Brunt bids adieu to international cricket on Friday, May 5. The right-arm fast bowler made her debut for England in 2004, and represented England women in 267 international matches, picking 335 wickets across all formats of the game. She has won three World Cups and four Ashes series and topped the wicket-taking charts for England Women in both T20I and ODI cricket.

Katherine stated that she has been a member of the England team for the last 19 years and has decided to call it time for her illustrious international career. She also stated that she never imagined she would be able to make such a difficult decision, but she did. She went on to say that her sole wish was to make her family proud, and she is glad she accomplished that.

“Well here I am, 19 years later, at the end of my international journey. I thought I’d never be able to reach this decision but I have and it’s been the hardest one of my life. I never had any dreams or aspirations to do what I’ve done, I only ever wished to make my family proud of me. And what I’ve achieved has gone way beyond that," Sciver-Brunt said.

Sciver-Brunt will continue to play in The Hundred with Trent Rockets

Katherine Sciver-Brunt was part of the England women's team who defeated Australia to win the Women's Ashes for the first time in 42 years. Interestingly enough, the decision to retire came from the 37-year-old, ahead of the coveted Ashes series, whereby England are preparing to reclaim the 'Urn' from Australia this summer. However, she will play one more season in The Hundred with Trent Rockets.

Notably, the former Indian bowling stalwart, Jhulan Goswami, is the only bowler who has taken more wickets than Katherine Sciver-Brunt (355) in women's international cricket. The English bowler was also an excellent batter, having scored over 1,800 international runs.

It is worth mentioning that Katherine played in an era when cricket for women was not as popular as today it is and inspired a whole generation of young girls and boys alike to pick up the game. Consequently, she not only inspired others to play the game but her performances brought new audiences closer to the game. Eventually, she raised the standard of modern-day cricket.