Fans hate it when their favorite cricket players announce early retirement, but it is a part of sports. Below we’ll look through those few athletes who’d announce early retirement breaking the hearts of many around the globe.
SARAH TAYLOR, ENGLAND
One of the world’s finest behind-the-stumps, two-time World Cup winner and 3 time Ashes winner, Sarah Taylor aged 30 announced her retirement from international cricket in September 2019. Sarah Taylor scored over 4000 runs in her 119 appearances in one-day internationals (ODI) and she scored 2177 runs in her 87 T20I innings. She scored 300 Test runs in 17 innings. Sarah Taylor burst on the international scene in 2006 and early in her career against India played a fine knock to hold her place in the team and topped it with a century very soon against Australia. Taylor later on in her career due to anxiety started to take mini breaks from cricket and then an extended year break after England’s T20 World Cup defeat in 2016. She’d taken the field again in 2019 but soon announced her retirement. Sarah now does a bit of coaching and also was part of a men’s team as an assistant coach in a franchise-based T10 League.
ISA GUHA, ENGLAND
World cup, T20 World Cup and Ashes winner, Isa Guha at 26 announced her retirement from international cricket in March 2012. Isa was a fast-medium pacer who made her international debut in 2001 aged 16, in the Women’s European Championship. She went on to play crucial roles in England winning a five-match ODI series against New Zealand and against India in 2006 she bagged 5 wickets in the Test series and 8 in the ODIs. Isa Guha’s best was witnessed in the Bowral Test in 2007-08 when she took a match-winning 9-100 to help England retain the Ashes. Isa was handy with the bat in hand and with the ball struck 29 wickets in 15 Test innings with best figures of 9/100, 101 wickets in 81 ODI’s with best figures of 5/14 and 18 wickets in 22 T20I outings which saw best figures of 3/21. Isa also has been an ICC no. 1 ranked bowler, when she toured with England Under-19 to Australia in winter 2002-03, she was named bowler of the series. Isa Guha also was named the BBC Asian Network Sports Personality of the Year for 2002. She currently is an active broadcaster and commentator the world enjoys listening.
EBONY RAINFORD-BRENT, ENGLAND
World Cup and World T20 title winner, Ebony-Jewel Cora-Lee Camellia Rosamond Rainford-Brent made her debut for England in 2001 and soon after suffered a serious back injury that kept her away from cricket action. Ebony was not only a cricketer, she played national school basketball and was an English school athlete, representing shotput and hurdling. She also played football and squash for London who’d decided to stick with cricket. Ebony was advised by the NHS doctors to stop playing sports if she gets an injury, but she put in the hard yards with Surrey and was back playing for England in 2007. In her small career of 22 matches, she scored 377 runs in 17 innings and also picked up a couple of wickets. In her 7 matches T20I career she scored 53 runs. Aged 28, back in 2012 Ebony Rainford-Brent announced her retirement and is now a very successful commentator and director of cricket at a couple of programmes.
ANYA SHRUBSOLE, ENGLAND
Two-time World Cup winner and two-time Ashes winner, Anya Shrubsole is one of the world’s finest pacers who aged 30 announced ger retirement from international cricket in April 2022. After her 7/28 against Surrey in the domestic game, she was called to the England development squad in 2007. She was impressive playing for the Development Squad against South Africa and in the European Championship that she soon received her England debut caps in both white-ball formats and proved to be a match winner straightaway. A few of Anya Shrubsole’s best were her fifer in T20I against New Zealand where she registered figures of 5/11 and against India in the 2014 Twenty20 World Cup registered figures of 3/8 and finished the tournament as the leading wicket-taker with 13 wickets at an economy rate of 7.53. In her Test career of 15 innings, she picked up 19 wickets and also scored 118 runs with a best of 47. In her 85 ODI and 79 T20I appearances, she struck over 100 wickets in both formats. She’s famously known for her spell of 6-46 against India at Lords in the 2017 World Cup.
LIZELLE LEE, SOUTH AFRICA
One of the world’s finest openers, Lizelle Lee debuted for South Africa in 2006. She has been an opener, a middle-order player, a wicketkeeper and a senior face for South Africa who in July 2022 announced her retirement aged 30. As per reports, differences between Lizelle Lee and the Cricket South Africa board led to Lizelle Lee announcing her retirement. Lee in her 4 Test outings averages a poor 10, but her best was in the white-ball formats. In her 99 ODI appearances, Lee scored 3315 runs at a healthy average of just over 36 and in her 82 T20I outings averaged 25.62 scoring 1896 runs. Importantly, her strike rate in ODI and T20I of 84.22 and 110.61 respectively is outstanding.
MIGNON DU PREEZ, SOUTH AFRICA
Former skipper and one of white ball’s finest, Mignon du Preez announced her retirement aged 32 from ODI and Test cricket in April 2022. She represented South Africa in 154 ODIs, scoring 3760 runs at an average of 32.98 with two centuries and 18 fifties. She sadly played just one Test match, scoring 119 runs at an average of 59.50 with one century, the debut Test saw it all and we were left wanting for more. Her best score in ODI was 116* and was recorded against Ireland Women in Dublin in 2016. She’d taken retirement from the long formats to concentrate on the shorter, T20I format.
VANITHA VR, INDIA
Former India player, Vanitha VR early this year in February announced her retirement aged 31. Vanitha made her international debut against Sri Lanka in January 2014 and represented India in 6 ODIs and 16 T20Is between 2014 and 2016, and scored a total of 301 runs. The highlight of her international career had come in 2016 when in the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup she made a 24-ball 38 against Bangladesh.
KATHERINE BRUNT, ENGLAND
One of England’s finest, T20 World Cup winner, twice ODI World Cup and Ashes winner, Katherine Brunt in June 2022 announced her retirement from the Test format. Brunt made her Test debut in 2004 and a year later was named player of the match after taking nine wickets and scoring a half-century as England won the Ashes for the first time in 42 years. She claimed a five-for in her last appearance, against Australia in Canberra over the winter, and retires with 51 wickets in the format. Katherine Brunt will continue for England in the white-ball format and has looked strong in their ongoing series against South Africa.
