England bowling legend retires from county cricket

Katherine Brunt will play in this summer’s Hundred but will not feature for the Northern Diamonds or Yorkshire

Katherine Brunt has announced her retirement from County Cricket (Zac Goodwin/PA) (PA Wire)

England bowler Katherine Brunt has announced her retirement from county cricket.

The 37-year-old, who is in the England squad for next month’s T20 World Cup, will play in this summer’s Hundred, but will not feature for the Northern Diamonds or Yorkshire.

Brunt has barely featured for her home county in recent seasons due to an increasingly busy international schedule and has not played county cricket since 2019.

“I have played some games over the last few seasons, but it’s been two or three max per year because that’s all the schedule has allowed,” she said on Yorkshire’s official website.

“There has been a time when I’ve been injured and not fully fit and I’ve played just as a batter. But if I’ve been fully fit, it’s only been for two or three games.

“I don’t want to take up someone’s place in the team. I wouldn’t think that’s fair when there’s so much good young talent in that Diamonds set-up.

“I don’t want to hold those girls back just because I’m someone who walks into the team because I need the practice.

“That makes it hard for a coach who needs to develop their young players who will be needed for crunch time in finals when I’m not available.

“I’m happy with what I’ve done, and I can still train and do what I need to do to prepare for competitions such as the Hundred. It just seems the right time.”