Rene Farrell, Australia women fast-bowler, announced her retirement from One-Day International (ODIs) on Thursday (April 20).
The decision from the 30-year old pacer came just a couple of months before her team starts its title defence in World Cup, which begins on June 24 in England. She will continue to represent Australia in Tests and Twenty20 Internationals though.
Speaking about her decision, she said the time was right for her to hang her boots because she feels she cannot serve her team in this format.
“With preparations about to begin ahead of this year’s World Cup, the time felt right for me to retire from one-day cricket for Australia,” Farrell said on Thursday (April 20). “I’ve had mixed fortunes in this format over the last few years and I no longer feel I can give what is required to compete at this level.
Farrell, who made her international debut in 2007 against New Zealand, played 44 ODIs and took 42 wickets at an average of 30.78 in addition to scoring 182 runs at an average of over 18.
She was also a part of the Australian team that won the World T20 in 2010 and 2014. However, she was not a part of the ICC Women’s World Cup winning Australian side in 2013, having taken a break from the game in early 2011. She returned to action three years later in 2014.
“It was an honour to be a part of the ICC Women’s Championship and to be part of the inaugural winning side is something I regard as very special in my ODI career. I still have the desire to represent Australia in the T20 and Test arenas and look forward to spending more time with the NSW Breakers and taking on more of a mentoring role to help our up and coming players progress to the next level. I’d like to wish all teams the very best of luck for the World Cup and I know that that those picked to represent Australia will do us proud,” she said.
Shawn Flegler, Australia women’s national selector, acknowledged Farrell’s contribution and thanked her for the same.
“Rene has been a wonderful contributor to Australia cricket and has played a key role in the success of the Australian ODI team for a long time,” Flegler said. “I’d like to thank Rene for her contribution to the team and look forward to watching her continue her career at both an international and national level.”
Farrell has represented Australia in three Tests and 54 T20Is taking 17 and 55 wickets respectively.