England's left-arm spinner Alex Hartley announced her retirement from professional cricket at the ongoing Hundred tournament. Hartley took a break from the game earlier this year after claiming she was "struggling mentally" while playing for Thunder in regional cricket, having lost confidence in her bowling and interest in the game. Then she made a comeback in the Hundred for Welsh Fire where she played three games, taking two wickets. Because of Fire's resurgence this year, they are already guaranteed a position in the knockout stages. Hartley's final game could be either Saturday's eliminator at The Oval or Sunday's final at Lord's.
Taking to Twitter, England Cricket wrote, "Alex Hartley is to retire from professional cricket. Hartley made 32 England appearances and was a World Cup winner in 2017. All the best, Alex!"
Hartley represented England in 28 One-Day Internationals (ODIs) and four Twenty20 Internationals (T20Is) between 2016 and 2019, with the 2017 World Cup victory being the clear pinnacle of her international career. She appeared in eight of England's nine tournament games and took ten wickets, including the crucial wicket of Harmanpreet Kaur in the final at Lord's.
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