Former England international Anya Shrubsole announced she will retire from playing at the end of the season after helping Southern Vipers beat The Blaze by seven wickets to lift the Charlotte Edwards Cup for the second year in a row.
The Vipers player-coach, a World Cup winner in 2017, was named player of the match after taking two for 24, having removed both of the The Blaze’s openers before bad weather stopped play on Saturday night.
A half-century from Danni Wyatt helped wrap up a comprehensive victory on Sunday, and it marked a turning point for Shrubsole, who said afterwards it was her last game for the Vipers as she will retire from playing after The Hundred.
“It’s hard to put an exact date on when I made the decision,” the 31-year-old said. “Through the course of this tournament it just became clear to me that my time was up.
“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.
“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 retired from international cricket last year, but has continued to play for Berkshire, the Vipers and Southern Brave.
She came through the ranks at Somerset and earned her first England call up as a teenager in 2008, going on to eight Tests, 86 ODIs and 79 T20 matches.
