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Ireland Women’s National Cricket Team all-rounder Arlene Kelly has announced her retirement from international cricket. She has been an experienced all-rounder for the side. The 32-year-old cricketer has been featuring in the WODI series against the England Women’s Cricket Team and is currently part of the team in the third ODI, which is ongoing in Worcester.
Arlene Kelly will retire after the ongoing third ODI against England. England Women are currently batting after the Ireland Women side won the toss and elected to field first, and the score is 146/1 as Sophia Dunkley bats at 80* along with Jodi Grewcock at the crease, 22 runs.
"It’s been an absolute privilege to represent Ireland": Arlene Kelly announces retirement
After taking the retirement decision, Arlene Kelly stated that she feels an “absolute privilege” to represent Ireland and thanked her teammates, coaches and Cricket Ireland for their support. She feels fortunate to play for the country and felt that this is the right time to hang up her boots and spend time with his family and friends in New Zealand.
“It’s been an absolute privilege to represent Ireland over the past four-and-a-half years and I’ve been fortunate enough to make so many amazing memories both on and off the field. However, the time feels right to hang up the boots and head back to New Zealand to be around my family and friends.”
"Will be a big loss": Lloyd Tennant on Arlene Kelly's retirement
Ireland captain Gabby Lewis praised Kelly's importance to the squad, referring to her as a player the team could always count on. She also mentioned that she is a special part of the side since her debut back in 2022.
“Arlene has become such a special part of our team over the last four years,” Lewis said. “She has given so much to us, both on and off the field, and has been someone we could always rely on.”
Apart from the captain, the head coach of the Women’s side, Lloyd Tennant, feels that Kelly’s retirement is a big loss for Irish Cricket given the amount of experience she has, and she also handles pressure well and has been reliable as she helped the youngsters a lot with her high performance.
“Arlene will be a big loss to Irish cricket,” Tennant said. “She’s been so reliable and handles pressure situations extremely well. “Her presence in our environment will also be a huge loss. She’s helped shape a new era of high performance, always looking for ways to improve and make the most of her ability.”
Arlene Kelly's career
Arlene Kelly made her debut back in 2022 and went on to feature in 110 matches for Ireland across formats. She currently has 135 wickets for Ireland and is third-ranked on the all-time list of wicket-takers for Ireland Women behind Isobel Joyce and Laura Delany.
She was named Cricket Ireland’s Women’s International Player of the Year and also won the ICC Women’s Player of the Month award for August 2023. Kelly was also decent with the bat, scoring 601 runs across white-ball cricket.
