2017 World Cup hero Anya Shrubsole says the moment her team conceded the coveted crown to Australia in Christchurch earlier this year, she knew that was the end of her 14-year-long career for England. The seamer decided to quit international cricket in the aftermath of England’s painstaking defeat in the World Cup final aged 30.
Despite age on her side, Shrubsole decided to hang her boots at the top-level game and says her announcement was, in fact, six months in the making. Preempting a future where she may not be able to provide England with the quality and the consistency she used to, the right-arm seamer believes she took the right call at the right time for herself.
“To be really honest with you, there’s not really any part of me that that wishes I was out there playing, which I think is probably a pretty good indication that retiring was the right decision for me. I’m really content with the decision that I’ve made and I think I’ve made the right decision at the right time,”
she told ESPNcricinfo.
What may have instigated the decision is being on the road for the best part of three months for the Ashes, followed by the World Cup in New Zealand, while undergoing a restrictive environment amid the COVID-19 biosecure bubbles.
The height of the pandemic also saw Shrubsole question at times whether she is good enough after being left out of the T20I side by the selectors. The 30-year-old underwent foot surgery back in 2021, which preceded a freak accident while training that broke her knee.
Deeming it a challenging couple of years, Shrubsole declared that the piling up of injuries and her axing from the T20I side “just made me question whether I thought I was good enough anymore.”
Shrubsole parted ways with the on-field action after eight Tests, 86 ODIs and 79 T20Is representing her country. She hasn’t given up on playing, however, as the bowler will be seen turning out for Southern Brave in this year’s edition of The Hundred. Shrubsole has also moved on to player-cum-mentor role with Southern Vipers at the domestic level.
