Kate Cross to retire from cricket at end of summer
Former England bowler Kate Cross has announced she will retire from cricket at the end of the summer. The 34-year-old played 102 times for England between 2013 and 2025 and has continued in domestic cricket since losing her England contract last year.
Cross won The Hundred with Northern Superchargers last year and, after the team rebranded as Sunrisers Leeds, lost to Trent Rockets in this year's final. She has remained active in the domestic circuit while deciding on her playing future.
Dame Sarah Storey, the chair of Lancashire, noted Cross's county roots: Cross made her debut for Lancashire aged 14 and became the first woman on the county's academy. Storey described her as a "true Lancashire legend", adding she "made an incredible contribution to both Lancashire and England Women".
Cross took part in The Hundred final for Sunrisers Leeds last weekend and is due to play the remainder of the season for Lancashire, including against The Blaze on Sunday in Nottingham. Those fixtures will form part of her final appearances before retirement.
She made her England debut aged 22 in a T20 in West Indies and was part of England's 2013-14 Ashes win in the winter of 2013-14, which the article describes as their most recent victory in the Women's Ashes. That early period established her international career.
The seamer fell out of favour after a run across formats and watched England's 2017 World Cup win at Lord's from a hospitality box. She later regained her place and was a regular in the Test and 50-over England side until being left out by new coach Charlotte Edwards last summer; her final international appearance was an ODI against India last July.
Cross finishes her career with 25 Test wickets, 101 in one-day internationals and 14 in T20s. On announcing her decision she said: "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," and added, "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."
Her retirement will take effect at the end of the summer and she will complete the current domestic season with Lancashire, with the scheduled match against The Blaze in Nottingham on Sunday among her remaining appearances.
