da spicy bet： Former England seamer to hang up boots after 19 years in domestic game
da winzada777： ESPNcricinfo staff and ECB Reporters Network11-Jun-2023Former England seamer and World Cup winner Anya Shrubsole has confirmed her impending retirement from professional cricket after claiming the Player of the Match award in Southern Vipers’ Charlotte Edwards Cup success.Shrubsole, 31, called time with England at the start of the 2022 summer and has now decided that this will be her final season in the domestic game, citing the pain of bowling as one of the reasons for her decision.At New Road on Saturday, she set the tone for the defending champions by removing both Blaze openers in a key opening spell, and although rain took the game into a reserve day Vipers eased to their target of 115. Shrubsole will play in the Hundred for Southern Brave before bringing the curtain down on a career that began in 2004.”It’s hard to put an exact date on when I made the decision, to be honest with you,” Shrubsole said. “I think through the course of this tournament it just became clear to me that my time was up.Related
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“I carried on playing because I really enjoy playing, but I guess the pain element of it – if I’m being totally honest – made it not particularly enjoyable at times, so in lots of ways it was a pretty easy decision to call it a day at the end of this year.”I told my team-mates on Friday night. I didn’t see it playing out like this, I told the girls because I wanted them to know but I didn’t think they’d make it really obvious, if I’m being honest with you! I feel very lucky to have played the last few seasons with this group, because they’re an exceptional team and an exceptional bunch of people.”Shrubsole attributed Vipers’ win, in part, to their know-how, having triumphed in the competition before. Blaze were limited to 114 for 8 in their 20 overs, with Charlie Dean and Georgia Adams also taking two-fors.”I think our experience was a factor in the final. We were in a really strong position before it absolutely launched it down yesterday, having got them to 50 for 4, and it’s always tricky to come back as a batting team and start again.”What we did really well today was be on it straight away. Those first three balls, then Deano, myself, Lins [Linsey Smith] and Gads – that’s four pretty experienced bowlers to set us up today so that definitely worked in our favour.”A victory for Blaze would have seen a new name on the Charlotte Edwards Cup, but Shrubsole was keen to praise their progress and the competition’s growth.”Blaze have come on a lot this year, without a shadow of doubt, and I think we’ve seen improvement across all the teams – both in this competition and the Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy.”It seems to be a much more even competition and without a doubt the standard has gone up. It’s no surprise that all those players who’ve had a winter as a professional cricketer have been able to improve. There’s no secret with that one, and it’s been a really enjoyable competition to be a part of.”For Blaze captain Kirstie Gordon, there was immense disappointment at not being able to replicate her team’s group stage form in the final, but pride at the progression they’ve demonstrated.”There’s a lot of disappointment at the minute,” she said. “To have had such a good campaign, to finish top of the league, and not give a true showing of ourselves today was disappointing. But we hope there’s more finals to come, and we’ll have gained great experience from today and take that into the future.”The England left-arm spinner believed Vipers deserved to win, but hoped the loss could act as a learning curve for her team: “Vipers are experienced, they are still the team to beat. Lottie and Gads have got a fantastic unit there. That bit of composure and experience they showed today has helped them. And for us a bit of naïveté, especially through that first 14 overs with the bat, we went into our shells.”Ultimately we’re hugely proud of where we’ve come from and this is the benchmark that we’ve set for future competitions and future seasons – we want to be in every final there is.”
