Former England captain Kevin Pietersen announced his retirement from professional cricket on this day in 2018.

Pietersen, one of the best batter’s of his generation and among England’s all-time greats, said “ciao” to the sport in an emotional Instagram post at the age of 37.

After confirming he would not take part in the Pakistan Super League play-offs with Quetta Gladiators, he said he was “super proud” of his achievements in the game.

He also paid tribute to his family for being the “most unreal supporters” during his brilliant nine-year England career.

Pietersen, who had been quite publicly edging closer to retirement over previous months, wrote on Instagram: “Thank you for all the quite lovely msgs! I loved entertaining you all! Ciao, cricket! I love this game!”

It was during the 2005 Ashes where Pietersen rose to prominence after he played a starring role in a 2-1 win over Australia with a maiden Test century in the final fixture of a pulsating series at the Oval.

Further Ashes wins would follow, along with success in the shorter format of the game as the explosive batter was named player of the tournament in England’s maiden T20 World Cup win in 2010.

Overall, Pietersen scored 23 centuries in 104 Tests, while he hit a further 5,616 runs in limited-overs cricket for England in 173 matches, but his international career ended abruptly and was not without controversy.

Pietersen was a casualty of the 2013-14 Ashes in Australia where England were thrashed 5-0 and 18 months earlier had been involved in a texting scandal during a series against South Africa, the country of his birth.

The latter years of the Pietermaritzburg-born maverick’s career were spent on the T20 circuit and occasionally producing notable innings for domestic outfit Surrey.

He struck his highest first-class score of 355 not out in 2015 but it failed to convince former team-mate and then England director of cricket Andrew Strauss to recall Pietersen, who bowed out playing for Quetta Gladiators in the PSL.

Wales centre George North has announced that he will retire from international rugby after Saturday’s Guinness Six Nations clash against Italy.

The 31-year-old, who has won 120 caps, has been recalled to the Wales team for what is a wooden-spoon decider.

He wrote on X: “I’ve decided that the game on Saturday will bring my international career to an end.

“After 14 years it feels like now is the right time to step away. I have loved and cherished every second in a Welsh shirt and been able to play alongside some fantastic team-mates.”

British ice skaters Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean have marked the 40th anniversary of their Olympic gold success by announcing they will be retiring from skating together in 2025.

The duo from Nottingham wrote their names in British sporting history at the 1984 Winter Games following their routine to Ravel’s Bolero at the Zetra Olympic Hall in Sarajevo.

Forty years on from their Valentine’s Day performance, they have returned to Sarajevo to celebrate the day with the city, where they confirmed they will embark on one last UK tour next year.

Reflecting on how their golden moment inspired more appreciation of ice skating, Dean told the PA news agency: “That was really a launching pad of then going off to do other things.

“Touring around the world, skating in front of hundreds of thousands of people and then Dancing On Ice starting up because of winning the Olympics.”

Olympic glory followed a sustained period of success at the World, European and British Championships during the early part of the 1980s.

As they took to ice at the 1984 Winter Games, they did not skate for the first 20 seconds of their routine – in order to comply with Olympic rules – before they burst into life.

With intense passion and intensity on display, the finale saw the athletes collapse on the ice and lay motionless in each other’s arms, sparking a standing ovation inside the arena and perfect scores of 6.0 were awarded from the 12 judges.

Recalling the day, Torvill, 66, revealed they had not had many opportunities to practise the routine in the arena before the final but were given a 6am slot on the day which no other competitors in their training group turned up for due to the performance being that evening.

Dean, 65, said after they performed the routine, they heard a “ripple of applause all around the gods of the building” from the cleaners, a memory from the day which has stuck with them.

He recalled: “When you think about the whole day, nobody was there, and then as the day goes on, people start to fill the building and the competition happens and it gets to a climax and the gold medals are awarded.

“Then the people start to disappear and then you’re just left with how it was in the morning, we’re almost closing the door on the day.”

He also revealed that the Princess Royal waited for them in the Olympic village with Champagne to celebrate despite them not arriving until late after being held up by the Olympic doping checks after the performance.

Torvill and Dean turned professional after their Bolero performance but competed in the 1994 Winter Olympics, where they won bronze before retiring from competition.

They later branched out into touring, coaching and choreographing before becoming the faces of ITV’s Dancing On Ice, which ran from 2006 until 2014, and later becoming head judges on the show when it was revived in 2018.

The duo will now retire from dancing together following their upcoming tour – Torvill & Dean: Our Last Dance – which will run from April 12 to May 11, 2025.

The shows, including dates in London, Belfast, Newcastle and Glasgow, will celebrate 50 years since they formed their skating partnership in 1975.

Reflecting on the decision to draw things to a close, Dean said: “I think there comes a time when you know.

“We’re not spring chickens any more. We’re still able to do it to a certain degree that we feel good about it, but that will go.

“So I think this is the right time for us to be able to do that and go and skate and do some of the old routines, be very nostalgic, but then do some new fun, upbeat (dances) with friends of ours from the skating world and from Dancing On Ice.

“We’re looking at it as a celebration.”

Among those they have inspired is British ice skating number one Lewis Gibson, who has previously said he started skating after watching Dancing On Ice, and his ice skating partner Lilah Fear.

Torvill is sure they will get a medal at the next Winter Olympics in 2026, and hopes it will be a gold one, which will pump more money into the sport in the UK.

“You really need to build into the infrastructure at a very early age and that’s where the funding needs to be, is to support young skaters and staying with them, developing them all the way through”, Dean added.

:: ‘Torvill & Dean: Our Last Dance’ will travel across the UK from April 12 to May 11 2025, with tickets on sale from February 14 at TorvillandDean.com

Australia wicketkeeper Adam Gilchrist announced his retirement from international cricket on this day in 2008.

The 36-year-old revealed he would end his Test career after their clash with India in Adelaide and his one-day international career following the next month’s triangular series against India and Sri Lanka.

Gilchrist had become the record holder for most Test dismissals by a wicketkeeper when he claimed his 414th victim the day before to move past South Africa’s Mark Boucher.

He scored 17 centuries in a 96-Test career and helped Australia’s one-day side win three successive World Cups.

Gilchrist said in a statement: “It is with great pride and happiness that I make the decision to retire from Test and one-day cricket.

“I’ve come to this decision after much thought and discussion with those most important to me.

“My family and I have been fortunate to have had an amazing journey full of rich experiences throughout my career and are sincerely grateful to all who have helped make this stage of our lives so fulfilling.

“I am now ready and excited to move into the next phase of my life which will of paramount importance include much more time with (wife) Mel, (and children) Harrison, Annie and Archie.”

Gilchrist contributed just 14 of Australia’s first-innings total of 563 as his final Test match ended in a draw.

 Sunil Narine is retiring from international cricket. The Trinidadian mystery spinner announced an end to his eight-year international career on Instagram on Sunday.

"I appreciate it has been over four years since I last played for West Indies but today I am announcing my retirement from international cricket," said the 35-year-old Narine who last played for the West Indies in 2019.

“Publicly I am a man of few words but privately there are a few people who have given me unwavering support throughout my career and helped me realize my dream of representing West Indies and to you I express my deepest gratitude."

Notwithstanding the announcement, Narine said he will end his international career by winning the ongoing Super50 league for the Trinbago Red Force. "I love representing Trinidad & Tobago, the country of my birth, and to add another title by winning the Super50 Cup will be the perfect send-off," he said.

Narine played 122 international matches, which included six Tests, 65 ODIs and 51 T20Is and was a member of the West Indies team that won the T20 World Cup in 2012. He has played for the Kolkata Knight Riders in the Indian Premier League since 2012.

He will continue to play for KKR in the IPL, Abu Dhabi in the International League T20, Trinbago in the Caribbean Premier League and Los Angeles in Major League Cricket. He is also part of the Hundred men's competition with Oval Invincibles and also plays in the Big Bash League, Pakistan Super League and Bangladesh Premier League.

Premier League winner Danny Drinkwater has announced his retirement from football.

The 33-year-old midfielder was one of the stars of Leicester’s shock title triumph in 2016, earning a big-money move to Chelsea the following summer.

But he did not manage to establish himself as a first-choice player at Stamford Bridge and unsuccessful loan spells at Burnley and Aston Villa followed along with disciplinary problems.

He pleaded guilty to drink-driving after crashing his car in 2019, suffered an ankle injury in an incident outside a nightclub later the same year and head-butted then Villa team-mate Jota on the training ground in March 2020.

Drinkwater’s last appearances came on loan at Reading in 2021-22, following which his contract with Chelsea expired.

Speaking on The High Performance Podcast, he said: “It’s been a long time coming maybe, especially with the last year, but I think it’s time to officially announce it now.

“I think I’ve been in limbo for too long. I’ve been wanting to play but not getting the opportunity to play at a standard or a level where I felt valued. I’m happy not playing football but I’m happy playing football, so do I just shake hands with the sport?

“It’s all I’ve known. It’s been my life since I was six, seven years old. It was never going to be an easy thing.

“If I was playing week in, week out and I had to say I’ve got to stop, maybe through injury or through just age, not being able to get about the pitch like I’d like to, I think it would be trickier.”

Drinkwater came through the Manchester United academy but did not make a first-team appearance before joining Leicester in 2012.

He was called up for the first time by England in March 2016 and made three appearances but was one of three players cut from the squad for the European Championship.

Frankie Dettori insists he has no plans to perform a retirement U-turn as he prepares to bring the curtain down on his glittering riding career in Britain on Qipco Champions Day at Ascot on October 21.

The legendary Italian has enjoyed a sensational final year in the saddle, with victories aboard Chaldean in the 2000 Guineas, Soul Sister in the Oaks and Courage Mon Ami in the Gold Cup just a few of the many highlights of his farewell tour.

His latest Group One success aboard Inspiral in Saturday’s Sun Chariot Stakes – his 500th winner at Newmarket – led to further speculation that Dettori might delay hanging up his saddle.

But while the 53-year-old admitted to being emotional both prior to and after Inspiral’s success, speaking on Racing TV’s Luck On Sunday programme, he reaffirmed his intention to call it a day before the end of 2023.

“It goes without saying I had a knot in my stomach yesterday, maybe because I was riding a short-priced favourite in Inspiral and maybe I was overthinking the tactics a bit,” he said.

“Then obviously I realised I was one short of 500 winners at Newmarket and there was only 14 days to go before I ride my last race in England, so all of that played on my mind a bit and I wasn’t myself.

“I wouldn’t be human if I didn’t feel like this. After 36 years doing what I love, it’s very hard to come to terms with the fact it’s going to finish soon.

“I’ve been swept off my feet for the last six months, to be honest. When I said I was going to retire I thought it was going to become easy, but actually I’ve had twice as much workload as I’ve ever done!”

Before Champions Day Dettori is readying himself for one final appearance at Newmarket at this week’s Dubai Future Champions Festival, while beyond Ascot he has a number of international plans, with a the Melbourne Cup or an appearance in Hong Kong expected to be his swansong.

He added: “We’ve got Newmarket coming up this weekend, it’s going to be my last Newmarket and I think Newmarket are doing a bit of a drinks party for me after racing, which is good, as I can invite a lot of people that I’ve been working with.

“I’ll then be flying to Milan for my last ride in Milan, which is where it all started. My mum and dad and my sister are going and all my school friends, so that’s going to be pretty emotional, and then straight back into what is going to be my last week (in Britain). It’s going to be flat out as I have a million interviews to do and then we go to Ascot.

“I know I’m retiring, but I don’t want to take the gloss off Champions Day, because it’s all about coronating the best horses in every category – and lucky me, I’ve got some absolute weapons to ride that day, on top of my retirement.

“I’ve got to keep my eye on the ball because I’ve got some massive pressure rides, possibly Inspiral, King Of Steel, Kinross and Courage Mon Ami, so I’ve got to make sure I’m completely focussed.”

He continued: “I’m sure I will cry as it’s my last day. Then, of course, it doesn’t stop there because I’m flying to the States for the Breeders’ Cup, then to Melbourne and then I promised Marc Chan (owner) that I’d delay my retirement because he’s very keen to run Kinross in Hong Kong. If he doesn’t make it, Melbourne could be my last one (ride).

“I haven’t thought beyond Melbourne or Hong Kong. I’ve said I’ve retired and at the moment I’ve got every right to carry on with that. I’m looking forward to a good, decent meal and a nice holiday!

“Because I’m riding a few winners everybody is saying ‘you should be doing this’ or ‘you should be doing that’, but I’m 53 and for a jockey I’ve had a pretty long career.

“The time has come and I’m glad that I can finish like this. I didn’t expect to have a year like this, but I can’t predict the future.

“I will miss it, but at the other end I have enjoyed it. It would have been sad if I’d have been retiring not riding in the big races and just floating around at secondary meetings and not winning. It’s turned out to be quite a good send-off.”

For now Dettori is fully focussed on going out on a high at Ascot on what is sure to be an emotionally charged afternoon.

He said: “It’s a massive day and no one more than myself wants to do well and be calm and do the right things for every horse – that’s the challenge.

“I have 40 people coming, all my family and all my friends. There’s even more pressure to deliver, but I love it. I like the big days, I like to be nervous – I think I need that to get me to tick.

“Maybe I’m spoilt, but the mundane Mondays don’t excite me any more.”

Classic-winning jockey Paul Hanagan has announced he will retire from the saddle after riding at York on Friday.

The 42-year-old enjoyed Epsom glory when steering Taghrooda to victory in the 2014 Oaks, before the duo went on to land the King George VI And Queen Elizabeth Stakes and finish third to Treve in the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe.

Hanagan was the leading apprentice in 2002 and was crowned champion jockey twice – first winning the title in 2010 when he rode 205 winners in a calendar year and successfully defending his crown in 2011, when he partnered 177 winners over the 12 months.

Recent seasons have proved more difficult, suffering a serious fall in February 2020 that resulted in three fractured vertebrae and a prolonged period on the sidelines, eventually returning to action in August that year and steering Majestic Dawn to a popular victory in the Cambridgeshire the following month.

Hanagan has ridden 14 winners so far this year and feels it is the right time to depart the weighing room, with his final ride due to come aboard the Richard Fahey-trained Wootton’Sun.

He said: “As you can imagine it’s quite emotional. It’s difficult, I think any professional sportsperson will tell you, especially doing it as long as I’ve been doing it for.

“There’s a few things involved in making my decision, I had a pretty bad fall about two years ago and I’ve never quite been the same after it, I fractured my back in three places.

“It’s not so much painful riding, but it’s getting to the level of fitness you need to be at to be a professional jockey and I don’t think I was getting to that standard.”

Former England international Ben Foster has retired from football for a second time.

Ex-Watford and Manchester United goalkeeper Forster walked away from the game last September, but was convinced to end his retirement and sign for Wrexham in March.

Foster saved a stoppage-time penalty against title-rivals Notts County the following month before Wrexham sealed promotion to Sky Bet League Two later in April, but he has now called time on his career following a difficult start to the new campaign.

 

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He earned cult status during his second spell with the Welsh club for his spot-kick heroics in the 3-2 win over Notts County and agreed to remain part of co-owners Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney’s ambitions plans to haul Wrexham up the divisions when he signed a one-year contract in June.

Foster has found life tough in League Two though, conceding five goals in Wrexham’s opening-day loss to MK Dons and he shipped five again in a 5-5 draw with Swindon on Saturday.

The 40-year-old has now confirmed his retirement and told the official club website: “The honest truth is that my performances this season haven’t reached the level I demand of myself and I feel that now is the right time to retire.

“At the forefront of my mind when making this decision was not only what was best for me but also the club, and making the decision now gives the club every opportunity to assess their options before the window closes.

“Wrexham will always have a special place in my heart.”

Reynolds said on Twitter: “He built memories I’ll never let go of for as long as I live. I love this guy. Thank you for everything, Ben.”

Foster started his career at non-league outfit Racing Club Warwick in 2000 before representing Stoke, Manchester United, Birmingham, West Brom and Watford across more than two decades in the game.

He made 390 appearances in the Premier League and played eight times for England, featuring in the 2014 World Cup under Roy Hodgson.

Wrexham boss Phil Parkinson added: “Ben has been the model professional while at Wrexham and has done everything we have asked of him.

“I am sure I speak for everyone, when thanking him for his contribution that went far beyond that one magnificent penalty save against Notts County to help us gain promotion last season.

“Wrexham AFC was a better place for having Ben Foster around the club.”

Three-time Ashes winner Steven Finn has announced his immediate playing retirement aged 34 as he “admitted defeat” in a long-running battle against various injuries.

Finn took 125 wickets in 36 Tests at an average of 30.4 between 2010 and 2016 for England, but he had drifted out of contention a while ago and has played no first-class cricket since July last year.

He ended a long association with Middlesex to sign for Sussex last summer, but a setback in his attempt to recover from a long-running knee problem has seen him bring his 18-year career to a conclusion.

He said: “I have been fighting a battle with my body for the last 12 months and have admitted defeat to it.

“I feel incredibly lucky to have been able to play cricket as my vocation since I made my debut for Middlesex in 2005. The journey hasn’t always been smooth, but I have loved it nonetheless.

“I retire with some amazing memories with England, Middlesex and Sussex, shared with fantastic people. Those will live with me forever.

“Cricket has given me a lot and I hope to give back to the game in some capacity in the future. But, for now, I’ll enjoy watching on without wondering whether my body will be able to make it through another day’s cricket.”

Finn took 129 wickets in 90 white-ball appearances for England and helped Middlesex to the County Championship title in 2016.

He became the club’s youngest first-class debutant aged 16 and made his England bow five years later during a winter tour of Bangladesh, while he was an ever-present in the 2010 Test home summer programme.

Finn was England’s leading wicket-taker after three Tests in their seminal 2010-11 Ashes triumph in Australia but was unceremoniously dropped for the Melbourne and Sydney triumphs because of his economy rate, while he featured just once when they retained the urn in the summer of 2013.

He was labelled “not selectable” by then England white-ball coach Ashley Giles a few months later back in Australia, with Finn later admitting he had been set back a couple of years by having to change his technique in 2012 because he kept knocking the bails off at the non-striker’s end with his knee in his delivery stride.

This habit led to complaints from the touring South Africa batters and the International Cricket Council stepped in, deeming it a no-ball – commonly known as ‘Finn’s Law’, with the seamer having to alter his run-up to correct the problem.

Finn returned to the set-up in the 2015 Ashes, with the series level at 1-1, and produced career-best figures of six for 79 at Edgbaston as England went on to claim a 3-2 victory.

Finn took 11 wickets in three Tests during the successful tour to South Africa in 2015-16 while he claimed 31 dismissals in eight matches to end Middlesex’s 23-year wait for the championship crown.

He made his final Test appearance in Dhaka in October 2016 as injuries went on to take their toll, with Finn sliding down the pecking order for both England and Middlesex before joining Sussex last year.

He took 21 wickets in 19 appearances for the south coast club in 2022 and finishes with a total of 947 scalps in 453 matches.

Finn added: “To have played 125 games for England, including 36 Tests, far surpassed what I dreamed of.

“I want to thank Sussex Cricket for their support over the last 12 months especially and for welcoming me wholeheartedly into the club at the beginning of last season.

“It really is a great place to play cricket and I’m sorry that I wasn’t able to play more of a part on the field since joining the club.”

Sussex head coach Paul Farbrace said: “Steven has been a fantastic bowler for Middlesex, Sussex and England.

“Over the next few weeks and months, I’m sure he will look back on his career with great pride and reflect on his huge contribution to the game.

“At this time there is huge disappointment that he can’t continue his career having worked so hard to get back to full fitness.”

Aidan O’Brien’s multiple Group winner Little Big Bear has been retired due to injury.

The son of No Nay Never was the champion two-year-old in Europe last year, winning a string of races that included the Windsor Castle at Royal Ascot, the Anglesey Stakes and the Phoenix Stakes – the latter a Group One he took by seven lengths.

He did not run again as a juvenile, and as a three-year-old his 2000 Guineas bid did not go to plan, but he was victorious again when dropped in drip for the Sandy Lane and was then beaten only by Shaquille when second in the Commonwealth Cup at Ascot.

His final run came in the July Cup, where Shaquille was the winner but Little Big Bear finished last of all when eased up by Ryan Moore having been hampered two furlongs out.

A late setback meant he missed last weekend’s Prix Maurice de Gheest, and the discovery of a condylar fracture on the right-front fetlock now means he will not race again.

O’Brien said via the website of owners Coolmore: “Little Big Bear is a super horse; that’s the long and the short of it.

“Different class, different gear and matured very early for a big horse.

“He’s big, scopey, strong, clear winded and very, very fast – a class sprinter.”

Scotland full-back Stuart Hogg has announced his retirement from rugby union with immediate effect.

Hogg had previously revealed plans to end his career after the World Cup in France later this year.

But the 31-year-old has decided to call time “knowing that I have given my body and heart to rugby”.

Hogg tweeted: “It is difficult where to start, but with great sadness and an enormous amount of pride I am announcing my immediate retirement from playing rugby.

“I fought with everything I had to make the Rugby World Cup, but this time my body has not been able to do the things I wanted and needed it to do.

“We knew this day would come eventually. I just never thought it would be this soon.

“It’s hard to put into words just how much of an impact the game has had on my life. I will be retiring knowing that I have given my body and heart to rugby.

“I will be forever grateful to this amazing community and cannot wait to begin my journey as a proud supporter of Scottish Rugby”.

Hogg made his Scotland debut in 2012. He played at two World Cups and went on each of the last three British and Irish Lions tours in 2013, 2017 and 2021.

He moved from Glasgow to Exeter in 2019 and was named Scotland captain the following year. Hogg skippered the national team for just over two years before Jamie Ritchie took over the role after head coach Gregor Townsend opted to make a change.

Hogg was visibly emotional before winning his 100th cap against Ireland earlier this year, although the match ended on a sour note when he was forced off in the closing stages with an ankle injury that ruled him out of the final Six Nations match versus Italy.

Townsend told www.scottishrugby.org: “Following Stuart’s news we would like to wish him all the best in his retirement. He has been an outstanding player for Scotland and has had a career lit up with so many achievements, highlights and special memories.

“I have had the pleasure of coaching Stuart for the majority of his career, and he was a joy to work with and watch on the training field and in games.

“He had a love for so many aspects of the game, and not only got joy from taking on defenders with ball in hand but also putting his team-mates into space.

“His basic skills and speed set him apart from other players, and it has been an amazing effort to play Test rugby for the past 11 years”.

Derby-winning jockey Martin Dwyer has announced his retirement from the saddle having failed to recover from a serious knee injury.

Dwyer has been on the sidelines since March 2022 due to a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his knee.

The Liverpudlian has undergone several surgeries on his knee but they have failed to offer enough improvement to enable him to return to the saddle.

Dwyer rode over 1,500 winners and partnered Sir Percy to Derby glory for Marcus Tregoning in 2006.

“It’s tough saying it out loud, I’ve got my head around it, I’ve known for quite a while now I’ve been struggling with the injury,” Dwyer told Racing TV.

“I’ve thrown the kitchen sink at the rehab. I went to see the surgeon again when I had another operation two months ago and he said it’s not going to be stable enough or strong enough to ride professionally.

“It is what it is and I’ve just got to get on with it.

“It’s been tough, obviously. I’ve been in pain for a long time, it just throbs constantly but I’ve been in good hands and the team at Oaksey House have been brilliant.”

Looking ahead to the future, he said: “I’m getting back to some normality but I’ve just got to accept my career is over and I’ve just got to get on with things. It’s tough because I’m not finishing on my terms.

“I’d like to go out like Frankie (Dettori) and do a world tour, but I’d probably be at Wolverhampton and Southwell!

“It’s been a tough year or so, but it’s time to move on to the next chapter. It’s been a journey that has been unbelievable.”

As well as winning the Derby, Dwyer also won the Oaks in 2003 on Andrew Balding’s Casual Look and took the King Edward VII Stakes, Great Voltigeur and Coronation Cup on Pyledriver, trained by his father-in-law, William Muir.

Hull KR full-back Lachlan Coote has retired with immediate effect on medical advice following a series of concussions over the past two seasons.

Australia-born Coote won three consecutive Super League titles with St Helens between 2019 and 2021 before joining Rovers ahead of the 2022 campaign.

The 33-year-old’s professional career also included international recognition with Scotland and Great Britain, in addition to spells with Penrith Panthers and North Queensland Cowboys.

“After suffering another concussion at Magic round, my fifth concussion in less than two years, I knew I was going to be faced with some tough conversations,” he told Hull KR’s website.

“With all the support from my coach Willie Peters, Paul Lakin (Hull KR CEO), Neil Hudgell (Hull KR owner) and the medical team at Hull KR, I have made a very difficult decision to retire immediately.

“Rugby league has always come first before anything, now I think it’s time to put my health, my future, my family first.

“I’m still finding it hard to come to terms with this decision and it has been a very emotional few days, knowing that I will not get to play alongside my team-mates again and finish off what we started.”

Coote made 27 appearances for Rovers, who sit seventh in the Super League after 15 games.

He scored 161 points for the club, surpassing 1,000 career points during that time.

Hull KR coach Peters said: “On behalf of everyone at Hull KR, we’d like to congratulate Lachlan on a wonderful 15-year career. Lachlan is a proven winner and will no doubt continue that into his retirement.

“It’s a sad situation for Lachlan having to retire halfway through the season. However, his health and family come first and the decision is the right one for him and his family.”

Former England international Anya Shrubsole announced she will retire from playing at the end of the season after helping Southern Vipers beat The Blaze by seven wickets to lift the Charlotte Edwards Cup for the second year in a row.

The Vipers player-coach, a World Cup winner in 2017, was named player of the match after taking two for 24, having removed both of the The Blaze’s openers before bad weather stopped play on Saturday night.

A half-century from Danni Wyatt helped wrap up a comprehensive victory on Sunday, and it marked a turning point for Shrubsole, who said afterwards it was her last game for the Vipers as she will retire from playing after The Hundred.

“It’s hard to put an exact date on when I made the decision,” the 31-year-old said. “Through the course of this tournament it just became clear to me that my time was up.

“I carried on playing because I really enjoy playing, but I guess the pain element of it – if I’m being totally honest – made it not particularly enjoyable at times, so in lots of ways it was a pretty easy decision to call it a day at the end of this year.

“I told my team-mates on Friday night. I didn’t see it playing out like this, I told the girls because I wanted them to know but I didn’t think they’d make it really obvious.

“I feel very lucky to have played the last few seasons with this group, because they’re an exceptional team and an exceptional bunch of people.”

Shrubsole retired from international cricket last year, but has continued to play for Berkshire, the Vipers and Southern Brave.

She came through the ranks at Somerset and earned her first England call up as a teenager in 2008, going on to eight Tests, 86 ODIs and 79 T20 matches.

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