Kate Cross, who has been part of the England squad ever since her debut in the senior side in 2013, has expressed her dissatisfaction over England Women’s cricket team dropping her from the ODI series against India and for the upcoming ODI World Cup. Talking with No Balls Podcast, she revealed that the week has been the toughest one she has had in her career.
It is still surprising to learn that despite playing 102 matches for England across all formats, spanning nearly 12 years, she was dropped from the squad in such crucial matches.
Kate Cross Dissatisfaction Over ECB
The 33-year-old pace bowler from England, Kate Cross, has been opted out of the England Women’s central contract, speculating on the news of the bias of the ECB over the players in recent years. Having played more than 13 years of professional cricket for the national side, the decision to omit her from the central contract was both disappointing and surprising.
However, in between all these talks, the England Cricket Board has asked Kate Cross to stay fit for the upcoming World Cup since she holds the valuable experience that the team might require in such an important tournament.
During the latest episode of No Balls, the 33-year-old pacer shared her feelings regarding such a disappointing decision. She said, “I had my appraisal with Lot and Finchy, our director of cricket, and they simply informed me that I will not be getting my contract with England renewed next year.”
Adding to this, Cross said, “I spoke to Lottie on the phone at the end of the Hundred, where she said: Look, can you keep training till October? In case an injury occurs to one of the seamers, then we will require you. That’s the bit I’m finding tough, because the end point isn’t now for me.”
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Above all these, Kate also made a bold statement saying that as of October 2025, she would not be a professional cricketer for England anymore, which has raised concern among the England fans about whether she is thinking of taking retirement from international cricket or not.
Kate Cross has announced that her England contract has not been renewed.
The fast bowler was not included in the World Cup squad that travels to India and Sri Lanka this month.
Cross made the announcement and discussed the situation on the No Balls podcast. pic.twitter.com/dWZ7hQXXXq
— Test Match Special (@bbctms) September 23, 2025
Kate Cross’s Cricketing Career
Talking about the stellar cricketing career she had for nearly 13 years, she has taken a total of 140 wickets, being one of only eight women to take more than 100 ODI wickets for England. In Women’s test only, Kate has played 8 matches from 2014 to 2023, where she has taken 25 wickets at an average of 30.72.
However, she has proved to be a key pacer in the ODI format as she has registered 101 wickets in 76 matches he has been associated with. Similarly, Cross was also part of the England squad that won the Women’s Ashes in Australia in 2013-14 but did not take part in the last series in Australia (where England lost 16-0 on points) due to a back injury.
Amit Mishra’s Perspective
The decision of the England Cricket Board not to renew the central contract of one of the key players from the squad does not seem to be digestible for most of the fans, especially when the ODI World Cup is around the corner. Despite Kate being the key pacer for the England Women’s cricket team, she got left out ahead of the ODI series against India.
While there is no confirmation from either side for dropping Cross out of the squad, her recent performance in the ODI could be one of the many reasons for being dropped from the central contract. I hope the ECB takes this matter seriously and rethinks the decision of Kate Cross ahead of the ODI World Cup.
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