England vice-captain retires

The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) today announced that England women's vice-captain, Laura Newton will retire from the game with immediate effect.

Newton commented: "It has been an extremely difficult decision for me to make but the demands of being an England Cricketer require a sacrifice I am no longer able to undertake from this point onwards.  Playing cricket for England has given me wonderful experiences, opportunities and memories that I will treasure for the rest of my life.

"It seems like a highly appropriate time to leave because a new coach is coming in and it gives someone else the opportunity to play cricket for England.

"Domestically speaking it also gives an opportunity for another player to take on the roles that I have experienced within cricket such as a Super 4s captain, Lancashire vice-captain and the England vice-captaincy. There are appropriate candidates within the game to fill these positions and I wish them all well. I'll be supporting the team avidly this summer from the sidelines as they take on New Zealand."

The opening batsman has been playing international cricket for the past ten years and has been an integral part of their recent success. She made her ODI debut against South Africa in 1997 and two years later she made her Test debut in the series against India.

In one-day internationals she has a top score of 79, hit against South Africa in 2005 and has scored nine half-centuries in that format.  She has a high score of 103 in Test matches, scored against New Zealand in 2004.

She was awarded the NatWest Player of the Series in 2003 for her consecutive scores of 68 and 77 not out. 

Newton is also fairly handy with the ball. She started off as a medium pacer, but in the last 12 months, the 29 year old Lancastrian has started to bowl off-spin. In the most recent quadrangular series in India in February she was the pick of England's bowling talent. In 1999 she gave her best performance with the ball in an ODI against India claiming two wickets for just 17 runs. In a Test match her best bowling figures are 3-10 against Australia in the winter of 2002/3. Newton is also highly regarded as an expert fielder in the international arena.

Executive Director for Women's Cricket, Gill McConway added: "Laura has been a fantastic ambassador for women's cricket and has been a tremendous asset to the England Squad for over a decade.

 "Losing a player of Laura's talent and experience will be a big loss to the relatively young England team. As a qualified and highly talented ECB Level 3 coach I hope Laura returns to cricket some time in the future. I wish her all the very best for life outside of cricket."

England captain Charlotte Edwards stated: "Laura will be a huge loss to the team as she offered a huge amount of experience and all-round talent. She sacrificed a great deal to play international cricket and I completely understand her reasons to retire as the demands on players are getting more and more.

"This retirement will give other players a massive opportunity to stake a claim for a place in the side for the forthcoming NatWest Women's Series and the NatWest Women's International Twenty20s as well as the approaching Ashes tour next year."
A new vice-captain will be announced in due course.