Lancashire and England bowler Kate Cross has announced that she will retire from professional cricket at the end of the 2026 season.
Cross made her senior county debut for Lancashire aged just 13 in 2005, having learnt her trade at Heywood Cricket Club. A year later, she became the first woman to join Lancashire’s Academy, beginning a remarkable journey that has seen her represent the Red Rose at every level.
Cross made her England debut aged 22 in a T20 in West Indies and featured in England’s 2013-14 Ashes win – their most recent victory in the Women’s Ashes – that winter.
The 34-year-old played 102 times for England between 2013 and 2025.
She played a huge part in an exciting Ashes Test win in Perth in 2014 and went on to be ranked number two in the ICC rankings for ODI bowlers.”
Her last international was an ODI against India last July.
She finished her career with 25 Test wickets, 101 in one-day internationals and 14 in T20s.
Cross has also taken 239 wickets for Lancashire across all Red Rose teams, professional and non-professional, including spells with Thunder and Lancashire Thunder in the Kia Super League, before the women’s domestic programme became fully professional. She also played in the Hundred and was the first female player to hit a six.
An amazing career we wish Kate well in all she goes on to do.
