England 'legend' retires from international cricket

England women's most prolific wicket-taker across all formats, Katherine Sciver-Brunt, has called time on her international career.

The 37-year-old had already retired from Test cricket last June to prioritise the white-ball formats and Friday's announcement means she will now play no part in this year's home Ashes series against Australia in June-July.

Sciver-Brunt will continue to play in the Hundred where she will feature for Trent Rockets in August alongside her wife and former England teammate Nat Sciver-Brunt.

Sciver-Brunt revealed wanted to go out at the top of her game with a clear plan for the future, which she said on Friday was behind her decision to announce her retirement.

"I've always made sure that I've kept my life outside of cricket safe and secure," she said.

"I've worked really hard for the last 10 years at securing what that looks like to the point where I feel happy to step away knowing that what I have is going to keep me now for the rest of my life.

"With what's happened with changes in cricket at the minute, the franchise cricket, the WPL (Women's Premier League) and the massive amounts of not only money but opportunity within the game has just changed the whole outlook of it in the last year.

"Things like that are hard to step away from especially when I've played 19 to 20 years and never had that kind of opportunity come my way so it would have been silly for me not to have tapped into it.

"So mixture of that (is behind the decision to retire) but also knowing that I am getting older, the best of me I believe has been and gone and going past my best it's not something I ever wanted to do.

"I wanted to go out still at the top of my game, knowing that I could have carried on. So I wanted to make sure that I go out on my own terms."

The right-arm seamer made her England debut in 2004, playing 267 times for her country and taking 335 wickets across all formats.

In that time Sciver-Brunt has won three World Cups and four Ashes series and is England's top wicket-taker in both T20I and ODI cricket.

"I thought I'd never be able to reach this decision but I have and it's been the hardest one of my life," she said.

"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.

"I have so much to be thankful for, cricket has given me a purpose, a sense of belonging, security, many golden memories and best friends that will last a lifetime.

"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 Nat."

Clare Connor, who was Sciver-Brunt's first England captain, and is now the ECB's deputy chief executive officer and England women's managing director, said Sciver-Brunt had given everything for nearly 20 years and had been an unbelievable role model.

"When cricketers retire, we rightly celebrate their skill, their runs and wickets, their records and accolades, but what Katherine has given the game of cricket extends far beyond those things," she said.

"Katherine began her career in a completely different era from the one we are in now and we owe her a debt of gratitude for the part she has played in progressing our game, raising standards and bringing a new audience to women's cricket.

"She is quite simply a legend of our sport."