Former England bowler Kate Cross has announced she will retire from cricket at the end of the summer.<\/p>\n
The 34-year-old, who played 102 times for England between 2013 and 2025, has been playing in domestic cricket since losing her England contract last year. <\/p>\n
“It is incredibly hard to imagine ever saying goodbye to playing the sport that has been such a huge part of my life and shaped me into the person I am today but the final chapter is in sight,” Cross said.<\/p>\n
“I feel so fortunate to have had the opportunity to play the game I love professionally and get to do it at the highest level.”<\/p>\n
Managing director of England Women Clare Connor said: “Kate has been a magnificent servant to England cricket and to the women’s game.<\/p>\n
“Kate enjoyed numerous high points as an England cricketer. She played a huge part in an exciting Ashes Test win in Perth in 2014 and went on to be ranked number two in the ICC rankings for ODI bowlers.”<\/p>\n
Dame Sarah Storey, the chair of Lancashire where Cross made her debut aged 14 and became the first woman on the county’s academy, described Cross as a “true Lancashire legend”, adding she “made an incredible contribution to both Lancashire and England Women”.<\/p>\n
Cross, who played in The Hundred final for Sunrisers Leeds last weekend, is due to play the reminder of the season for Lancashire, including against The Blaze on Sunday in Nottingham.<\/p>\n
Cross made her England debut aged 22 in a T20 in West Indies and featured in England’s 2013-14 Ashes win – their most recent victory in the Women’s Ashes – that winter. <\/p>\n