Born in Steeton, Yorkshire in 1981, Arran Brindle (nee Thompson) debuted for England in 1999 against Denmark and quickly made a name for herself as a talented top-order batsman, sharing a record first-wicket stand of 200 runs with Caroline Atkins in England's one-off Test against India in 2002.

Having dropped down the order, she went on to play a starring role in England's 2005 victory against the Australians, the first time the women's team had won the Ashes in 42 years. Her debut Test hundred ensured a draw in the first Test, and she was fittingly at the crease to hit the winning runs in the second.

She took a career break from internationals between 2005 and 2011 in order to become a mother. During this time she both captained her club Louth's first XI, and became the first woman to score a century in men's Premier League cricket, in the Lincolnshire Premier League for Louth against Market Rasen.

After her return to the England side during the 2011 Quadrangular Series, she became the resident mother figure to her team mates, with son Harry adopted as a team mascot. Her reliable medium-pacers came good when, at the 2013 World Cup, she achieved the ridiculous figures of 3-0 in 2 overs against the eventual finalists, West Indies. She also re-established herself as the backbone of England's middle order, topping the batting averages in the 2014 Ashes series.

She retired from international cricket in February 2014, having scored 2,852 runs in 134 international matches and with 57 wickets to her name, in a career that spanned almost 15 years. She has since returned to teaching full-time and playing for Louth. She was also selected for the inaugural women's Super League, playing for the Southern Vipers. Raf Nicholson