Deandra Dottin pulls plug on two-year cricket retirement

All-rounder Deandra Dottin recently announced her return to international cricket after her retirement two years ago.

In a joint statement released by Cricket West Indies, the 33-year old Barbadian said she had made her decision following “a period of reflection and thoughtful dialogue”.

“Representing West Indies in international cricket has always been a matter of great pride and passion for me,” Dottin said.

“After a period of reflection and thoughtful dialogue with various parties within Cricket West Indies, including Cricket West Indies president, Dr Kishore Shallow, I am pleased to inform you that I am eager to return to the game that I love, and contribute my utmost to the West Indies women’s team across all formats, with immediate effect.”

She continued: “I am confident that my experience, maturity, and skills will add value to the team as it has done in the past, and I am prepared to furnish my best efforts in every match and training session to ensure the team’s winning trajectory in international cricket. 

“Moreover, I am enthusiastic about mentoring younger players and contributing to the overall development of women’s cricket in our region.”

Almost two years ago, Dottin unexpectedly announced her retirement from international cricket, pointing to “the current climate and team environment” as being “non-conducive to my ability to thrive and reignite my passion.”

Dottin said her earlier retirement came “with much sadness but without regret”, after realizing she was no longer able to “adhere to team culture and team environment as it has undermined my ability to perform excellently.”

She was one of the world’s leading players and is one of the second most experienced West Indies Women’s players —only behind former captain Stafanie Taylor.

Dottin is an aggressive top and middle-order batsman with a combined 270 white-ball games and has plundered 3,727 runs in One-Day Internationals with three hundreds and an average of 30, and has scored two hundreds in T20 Internationals gathering 2,697 runs.

She is also a sharp medium pacer and has taken 134 wickets across both white-ball formats.

“Deandra is a player of immense ability and experience,” said CWI director of cricket, Miles Bascombe.

“We are pleased with her decision to return to international cricket and be eligible for selection. There is no doubt that she could add significant value to the West Indies Women’s teams.”