English women cricket’s most prolific bowler Katherine Sciver-Brunt on Friday announced her international retirement after a decorated 19-year-long career during which she won three World Cups.
The 37-year-old Sciver-Brunt, who made her England debut in 2004, played the last of her 267 international matches against South Africa in the T20 World Cup semi-final at Newlands in February.
She had retired from Test cricket in June last year after playing 14 matches in which she took 51 wickets. She will play no part in this summer’s Ashes, which will run concurrently with the men’s series in June and July.
Right-arm pacer Sciver-Brunt had already announced her retirement from regional cricket, but she will continue to play in the Hundred.
“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,” Sciver-Brunt said in a statement.
“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.
“…Of the trophies and titles I could have wished to achieve, I have reached them all, but my greatest achievement is the happiness that I have found in (wife) Nat (her England team-mare whom she married last year).”
In the course of her illustrious career, Sciver-Brunt won three World Cups (two 50 over and one T20) and four Ashes series.
She took 170 wickets from 141 ODIs and 114 from 112 T20Is — both record hauls for England. In all, she claimed a total of 335 wickets across formats for England.